Birmingham Airport

I always find BHX a breeze. Large check-in area and the new security area is much improved on the old one. Maybe I have been lucky with queues but I've never had to wait more than about 15 minutes to get through security. Once through there is a good choice of bars and shops and the new International Pier offers a great view of the apron with loads of seating. On return the new immigration booths assist with the queues particularly for UK passport holders and on my last two occasions I have been out of the airport within 20 minutes of landing. I agree with the comments on the charges for the drop off area so now I always get dropped off at Birmingham Int'l railway station which is free for 20 minutes and take the Maglev train to the terminal.

BHX used to be a superb airport to fly to and from. Not any more. On the way out to Dalaman we were caught in a quite ridiculous queue for security which looped from the escalator right the way round the first floor shopping area and then along the passage way eventually and after a few more loops into the security area. So despite arriving 2 hours before departure we had limited time in the departure lounge before our flight was called. On return at about 23.25 a week later I was kept waiting about 45 minutes for our luggage. I then had an unpleasant walk in the rain to the far side of the long stay car park as the shuttle bus service becomes almost non-existent by late evening and is totally inadequate when several flights arrive at the same time. I then had to return to the drop off car park to pick up some luggage and passengers; I was there for a little over 10 minutes - enough to for the parking charge to click up from £1 to £2. BHX - if you are going to accept several flights together late in the evening - please retain enough staff to cope. A couple of years ago I would have been pleased to give a total satisfaction score of 9 or 10 for this airport.

The airport is clearly focusing on short term financial performance at the expense of passenger experience. As has been mentioned elsewhere the cost of changing currency through Amex and the drop off charges are ridiculous and they even seem to have stopped picking up litter to save money.

Queuing times for security would be considerably decreased if passengers fully complied with the security procedure. Instead many passengers totally disregard the procedure and this results in their bag being pulled over for search. This not only delays them but also other passengers in the queue behind them.

My boss travelled BHX-GLA-BHX 15/16 May. On his return to BHX it was 20 minutes before he left the aircraft and a further 35 minutes waiting for baggage. There was no-one to operate the airbridge then Menzies Handling employee had to get a code to open door into baggage hall. After 15 minutes standing at non-moving conveyor belt request was made for information on whereabouts of baggage. Eventually it started to appear after 35 minutes of waiting. Reason for delay was - we've had a lot of planes arriving. It's barely a month into the holiday season and already we have the familiar problem at Birmingham which seems to be their ability to cope with baggage delivery. My boss was not impressed!

2 points to raise firstly BHX now uses American Express for bureau de change and I find them prohibitively expensive. Secondly on flights arriving late at night the airport authorities insist on using remote stands and bussing people to the main terminal which adds and extra half hour to getting out of the airport. This is the 4th time I have landed there late at night using different airlines and every time its a remote stand and a bus!

Unfortunately I have to use Birmingham Airport to fly to the Channel Islands to visit my family. I nearly always find the security staff are the worst in the world. If possible I travel from Heathrow. On 12th April I had intended to be at the airport an hour before departure but due to late arrival of a train I only just made it 30 minutes before my flight was due to leave. I was told I should have been there 2 hours before departure - I have never had to for the Channel Islands and I have in my procession a print out saying 30 mins before departure. They emptied my bag all over the place then stuffed everything back in. An extremely nice lady helped me to calm down and I was offered a voucher for a drink onboard. Very bad security staff here and I am 70yrs old - horrible experience.

Travelling out from airport was ok although object to drop off parking charges made for such a short period of time (£1 for 10 mins) which isn't long enough. Makes it a very rushed start to any holiday. Return experience was even worse. Don't the staff check when flights are due in? We returned on a daily flight from Dubai but there were no trolleys at the pay station. There seems to be an air of indifference to the needs of the traveller and an unfortunate end to an otherwise wonderful holiday. Come on Birmingham stop being so money grabbing and start to think about your customer service. The two don't match!

Went to Lanzarote on the 1st April from Birmingham everything fine except for the security part which was a nightmare. Queues were huge. Two girls in front had a bottle of pop which obviously couldn't go through the first bloke told them it couldn't the woman on the x-ray machine said it could and then surprise surprise their belongings were rejected. The bloke at the end then proceeded to spend 10 minutes explaining that they couldn't take it through and then walked the entire length of the hall to tip it out and give them back the empty bottle! It took us 35 minutes to get through. The joke being that there is a sign as you queue telling everyone how much better the new security arrangements are.

I've been a regular user of BHX for 20 years and unfortunately the last few have seen a marked deterioration in the experience. Security and border control are a particular problem. Margins are the main focus of management and if that drives away core customers (passengers and airlines) then it seems to be a question of so be it. Most other business airports I use regularly (LHR SVO IAH & AMS) have improved greatly in the last few years or at worst stayed the same. For me now the 40 minute time saving it offers me over LHR is becoming increasingly irrelevant.