Airport chief urges patience from passengers after morning of chaos
THE chief of Birmingham Airport has pleaded for patience after huge queues sparked fury among passengers.
Customers told of scenes of “total chaos” last Friday morning while some missed their flights, with reports of 300 metre-long queues for security checks.
Airport bosses apologised for the delays, blaming a mixture of staff sickness, a mechanical breakdown and “unprecedented” growth in passenger numbers.
But chief executive Paul Kehoe later issued a plea for passengers to remain patient amid the “growing pains” of ongoing changes at the airport.
The current drop-and-go car park is closed for development works and another car park is being built nearby while the airport is also investing in new baggage facilities.
In a video message to customers on Friday afternoon, Mr Kehoe said: “The investment is for you, it’s for making Birmingham Airport a better airport in the longer term.
“You are very important to us. We want to give you the best facili- ty. Please bear patient with us.”
Mr Kehoe also urged passengers to help alleviate delays by allowing more time and preparing for security checks.
“Remember when you come to security, prepare yourselves to take those liquids out of your bags, to make sure you’re ready to go through security,” he said.
“The second thing you should do is make sure you allow more time for your journey.
“I appreciate your patronage of the airport. Thank you for your support and please bear with us with us and be while we go through this difficult rearrangement of our facilities.”
Birmingham Airport’s website was showing delayed departures on virtually every flight during the chaos at around 7.45am on Friday, with the average queueing time estimated at nearly an hour.
At first, the airport said there was “no particular reason” for the delays.
A spokeswoman told the Birmingham Post the long queues were because 5am to 9am was the peak time for travel and it was always busy.
But a new statement was later issued admitting a number of factors were to blame.
The spokeswoman added: “We sincerely apologise for the queues at security this morning. Unfortunately, during this peak period we lost two lanes due to staff sickness and a mechanical fault.
“We are experiencing unprecedented growth in passengers, far higher than predicted, and the advance load factors presented to us by airlines are also lower than what we are actually seeing. This is being reviewed.”