Birmingham Airport

Long stay car park 1 arrival and departure handling times were terrible. Security at Term 2 terrible queued for twenty five minutes just to get to scanners arrogant member of staff replied on being asked by a lady why such a long queue he stated that "this is not a queue you should go to Term 1 to see what a queue is" very helpful ! This with their various charges drop off trollies etc makes this the worse UK airport for me.

Not nice when arriving at terminal 2. If more than one plane lands at the same time you are forced to endure a claustrophobia inducing queue in a dark passageway to get to passport control. Terminal 1 is better but security queues can be very long. Passport control here is also bad especially if you arrive at the same time as the Emirates flight. I have often flown on Monarch and been kept waiting for and airbridge shuttle bus etc. Shops and facilities are ok.

An airport where much is done to minimise cost meandering infrequent courtesy busses. and maximise retail opportunities ie they trap you in the shopping centre until your gate is called a windowless chaotic cell when pier is a much nicer place to sit. poor choice of food and snacks and only the normal high street shops but does not feel special. An airport that is good for healthy holiday makers and budget airlines but for frequent business travellers for those new to flying or not actually disabled but not comfortable on there feet for a couple of hours luggage hauling its not so good.

This used to be a very pleasant airport. But it has slipped in a couple of areas of late. The first impression if you use Long Term Car Park 1 is the bus to the terminals. This used to be for car park passengers only and it stopped at both terminals. Now it is for car park passenger 'set down' passengers using the free 15 minute option and airport staff. As a result it is slow and meanders its way through the car park before stopping at a point which still requires an open air walk to reach Terminal 2 departures. Quite why business travellers should be forced to share a bus with airport ramp workers is beyond me - no other airport mixes staff and passenger buses. The 'priority channel' at security causes resentment from passengers queuing in the 'normal' access - particularly when only 2 out of 5 checking lanes are available. Servisair lounge offers very little in the way of comfort food or beverages and the thumping music from the Tie Rack shop nearby is intrusive. On return the automatic passport readers are a plus - but then it all goes wrong again with the latest change to car parking. You can no longer pay in the terminal; instead you have to drive to the exit gate park pay in a draughty shed with only 2 machines (which do not have clear instructions for use) then back out into the oncoming traffic to drive to the exit lanes. Whoever came up with this stupid idea should go and visit other airports to see how car parking is managed!

They need to sort out the priority service for security. The entry is clearly marked but merges for the first check with the normal line which causes resentment amongst passengers who have had to queue. This is even worse when you get through to the screening. It could be though out a lot better. That said the screening was efficient and quick on our return our baggage came off the belt within a minute of getting to the reclaim hall and we were on our way home within 30 minutes of leaving the aircraft. Sort out the screening and the outrageous charges for dropping passengers off.

This is a very handy airport for access to the Midlands (including Shakespeare Country) and Birmingham itself and in a pleasant location - only 80 minutes by train from London. The best transport option is the train which can whisk you to Birmingham New Street or Coventry in just over 10 minutes. Birmingham International Station can easily be reached from the airport concourse (upper level) by using a monorail system - the trip is some 2 minutes. In contrast the bus service is poor and many of the lines serving the airport do not operate on Sundays. Car access is easy from the A45 and well signposted; car parking is plentiful (both indoor and outdoor) but very expensive after the first 15 minutes. I used this airport this week (GRU/FRA/BHX and back) on arrival my wife and I cleared immigration easily and the immigration officer was very pleasant. The first shock however came soon after - a fee of 1 pound to get a trolley (change machines are available). Our departure was also OK except for the excessively strict security they confiscated my wife's skin moisturiser but at least did it with a smile. The airport has a good variety of shops and also food outlets. On the upper level near the shuttle station there is a good variety of restaurants (mostly on the expensive side) - you can even have good ol' Fish 'n' Chips in true British fashion while waiting for your flight. There are shops in the departure lounge too so if anything gets confiscated you can buy another one - just be sure it's under 100ml.

Birmingham T1. Worked fine; good deal on weekend parking in short/medium stay car-park. £1 for trolley looks a bit grubby but several abandoned in car park so not a big deal. Check-in security airside departure lounge ok and much better than MAN. On return baggage retrieval efficient

The special assistance area at Birmingham Airport is badly situated in the very busy & noisy check in area. There are often no seats available. The only disabled toilet nearby is often occupied by non disabled passengers or else nappy changing parents & it is often dirty. It was much better when it was upstairs in a quieter area with toilets nearby. My daughter is in a wheelchair & flies regularly from Birmingham. She always has a long wait to be collected from the plane or to be put on it & is often the last to get on! She had to wait over an hour to be disembarked last time & the pilots & crew were not happy as they were waiting to take off again. I'm not able to accompany her to the departure lounge & have to wait outside until I'm sure the plane has left without problem. In other EU countries its no problem to go through to the departure lounge & wait with them. Why is it not possible here? It is a terrible ordeal for her & for me but we cannot avoid it.

I use BHX on a fairly regular basis and overall it is good. It is not that big and easy to navigate however you must make sure you have loads of time before your flight. The queue for security in terminal 1 can be massive at times and it can take over 30 minutes to get through. Once through there are a few shops leave plenty of time as there are always large queues in the newsagent and they seem to run out of newspapers by early afternoon. On arrival try and avoid arriving around 12.45 when you have Emirates Turkish and Turkmenistan arriving around the same time you can imagine the queue at passport control. Regarding the parking arrange to meet arrivals at the car hire roundabout which is a short walk away plenty of people do that. BHX have improved the luggage collection before you would have to wait an age but it is now much quicker. Terminal 2 is smaller than T1 and you are through in no time at all.

You get ripped of on arrival with their enforced £1 drop off fee then ripped off again when you want to use a trolley. You then stand in a long winding queue for ages to be met by surly security staff. I'm ashamed to say I live in Birmingham - I can only imagine what visitors must think particularly if they have the misfortune of using T2 departures - and I haven't mentioned the public conveniences with lights out ceiling tiles missing and cubicle doors broken.