TARGET oF TRAVELLERs’ FURY
SPEAKING about the recent chaos, the worker said: “The main reason for the queues are the high demand of passengers and the lack of staff.
“The queues are usually controlled well, but there are times that, due to the frustration and the high temperature in that area, customers do tend to lash out at the security staff. Staff do get a tonne of verbal abuse from frustrated passengers but we just need to deal with it.”
The employee also alleged recent recruitment open days had not attracted the numbers required to fill vacant roles.
“It has come to a point where Birmingham Airport are calling the staff they had let go, asking them to come back. But people felt betrayed over how they were treated. And at this point people have moved on.”
Passenger volumes dipped by 91 per cent in the year after March 2020 as Covid hit. The airport began actively recruiting again last November and has since upped its security team numbers by 19 per cent, with a cohort of extra officers due to start by June. Customer experience workers have also increased by 20 per cent.
A Birmingham Airport spokesman said: “Colleagues from across the business, including the chief executive and his leadership team, have been supporting our colleagues in security and customer service by doing shifts in the terminal at all hours of the day including on weekends.
“Most colleagues are loving getting stuck in as one team to help our customers who have returned suddenly and in large numbers following the lifting in March of Covid travel restrictions.
‘‘We are aware of a few instances where airport colleagues have been verbally abused by some customers. However, these ugly moments are far outweighed by positive ones where customers, who see how hard our people are working, stop to say ‘thank you’ and ‘good job’. These kind words mean a whole lot as the aviation sector recovers from a bruising past couple of years.”
The airport says 150 people attended its recruitment fair in January, while March’s event attracted 1,500 people.