Birmingham Airport

Birmingham used to be a reasonably efficient 2 terminal operation but in the past months it has implemented "improvements" that have reduced security processing to a crawl (45 minutes on a normal Friday (not peak time!) - certainly the slowest I have encountered of the many UK airports I use. Lots of clever speaking cardboard models (but after 30 repeats of their greeting most people queuing would gratefully switch them off) but a dearth of security staff & open channels.

I read the reviews with regard to security queues posted in October 2010. The position now is perhaps even worse. I travelled out of Birmingham in January and again in the first week of March. Each time we queued for about 45 minutes to get to the security screening. At 5.30 in the morning you don't expect to be greeted by any queues! I dread to think what the situation will be this Easter weekend or in the summer. The problem is easy to see and the designer of the security area wants sacking. You cannot pick up a tray until you get to the X-ray machines so there is no way to start preparing to remove liquids belt jewellery coat boots laptop coins and everything else that has to go in the tray. Hence the delay. Once through there are only a couple of tables and chairs so you struggle with the largest tray imaginable and have to sit on the floor to put everything back again. When will the airport authorities realise that they have made a huge mistake and address this problem. And don't even start me on charging to drop off airport users.

The prime objective seems to be revenue with no consideration for customer satisfaction. What other International airports charge £1 for drop off or for trolleys or have such dirty and toilets? But the biggest problem with this airport are the queues for security. They have always been a problem but have recently got worse with the "upgrade" and "improved" security screening facilities. On the 25th October there were 100's of people inconvenienced like myself and it took over an hour to go through the process. I questioned the reason for this with an airport representative and she said the problem was management and the way it is run. So paradoxically the security screening process "improves" but the passenger experience does not. I agree with this and there needs to be step change in management thinking to focus more on customer satisfaction. The obsessive focus on processes and the training they provide seem to turn the staff into "jobsworths" doing everything they can to discommode the paying public. So allow extra time to go through this Airport which offers a similar experience to many in the third world.

Birmingham to Dalaman from Terminal 1. Check in was fine but then we hit the queue for security. I have never seen anything like it. It took 1 hour to get through and not all the scanners were being used. For that reason alone I will avoid this airport if at all possible.

Beware travellers attempting to travel through BHX. This airport has succumbed to a lack of investment in people and equipment. Security is one of the worst manned and slowest there is out there. I now won't even think of turning up with 45 minutes before my flight with just hand luggage for an early morning flight. Even business class travellers beware the priority pass may save you having to queue around the food court and upper atrium but doesn't save you from the other queues once behind the 'security wall'. That said the departure lounge is very pleasant with plenty of choice for eating and drinking and not very long queues as most people have spent so long in security they have had to go straight to the gate. Coming back in to BHX you may have more luck occasionally the IRIS system is working in immigration and you can sail through (but I never seen it) and sometimes the queue at immigration is easy. However if you land just after a 777 from Asia expect to wait a long time. What you see on duty is what they have there seems to be no one in the wings ready to improve the flow. Unfortunately it's my local airport and has good connections around the world but I wouldn't recommend it. Oh and £1 for every 15 minutes just to pick up or drop off passengers.

I have flown from Birmingham Airport both european and middle east (UAE) flight on quite a regular basis over the last two year. Birmingham is a lovely airport not small but not huge. Every thing you need is there and the shops in departures are normal not just high end over priced clothes and hand bags! I've only had one 20 minute delay and airport staff have been great. The only gripe is the NCP parking on site although not the airports direct fault the website says its covered and a 2 minute walk to the terminal its open air and a 10-12 min walk at a brisk pace or 5 mins on the free bus (every 5-8 mins or so) still better then Heathrow or Gatwick.

Excellent link between train station and airport meant I did not get ripped off for parking. I usually fly from T2 which I have always found to be excellent but due to upgrading work most flights are now departing from T1. As a result I arrived extra early to check-in etc and boy am I glad I did! The queue for the security line in T1 was a joke; it was snaking around the terminal past the shops and restaurants. For 40 minutes I shuffled through the line to the security desks where the staff themselves were complaining (quite loudly) that more desks needed to be open because they could barely cope with passenger numbers. Queuing to get hand luggage X-rayed was frustrating; passengers were lining up through a maze of channels just like when queuing for a ride in the theme park though this was infinitely less fun. Staff were constantly patrolling calling out for final call passengers. I don't think anyone was actually in control of the situation and it felt as though this was a regular occurance which staff have become accustomed to. On a positive note the staff I interacted with were calm polite and helpful. Departure lounge had the usual assortment of retail and coffee shops and the departure gates were close by. On the return trip my luggage arrived within 20 minutes of landing. I don't think I will fly from BHX until all the building works have been completed. At the moment T1 is totally overwhelmed.

Birmingham Airport seems to be going down the road of ripping customers off at every opportunity. Firstly you have to pay £1 just to drop someone off. They charge £3 per 15 minutes if you dare take more than 15 mins at the drop-off area. It used to be free but according to one of the police officers at the airport due to anti-terror measures the charges were brought in along with a new drop-off area. The airport luggage trollies cost £1 (you don't get your £1 back). The plastic bags cost £1 at the security point. Upon arrival at the airport baggage always takes about an hour to arrive in the baggage reclaim area and you are stung again for a £1 luggage trolley. My suitcase had its wheels damaged which meant we had no choice but to buy a luggage trolley. I will not be flying out of BHX again.

I am biased and live 5 miles away. Security out was slow but immigration back from Palma yesterday was speedy. New terminal wing very pleasant. I cannot comment on park and ride The Emirates lounge is very plush.

I have used this airport for many years and service has declined in recent years to the point of being utterly appalling. The parking systems are a joke - you could not make them any more confusing if you tried. In particular I would like to congratulate those who designed and procured the barrier machines - they deserve a medal for disguising that all-important button so well (nice and small ambiguous symbol on it and surrounded with utterly bewildering information). On-site parking took so long due to the infrequency of buses that my wife reached the front of Check-In queue alone where staff insisted that she go to the back of the queue again (like a naughty child) rather than allow those behind to pass her. The liquids ban has given the airport yet another chance to sneak a few more pounds out of unsuspecting passengers by forcing those with cosmetics etc to purchase a quantity of 4 bags each in a useless plastic ball. Incidentally Drop-off costs a pound and even a luggage trolley requires a pound (non-refundable). The baggage reclaim on return took over an hour despite the airport being very quiet with no explanation of the delay other than 'operational difficulties'. Finally the long stay parking (operated by NCP) was also difficult to exit for prepaid customers and every single one of the 4 cars ahead of me struggled with the process for several minutes each - as I then did.