Passenger surge sparks airport recruitment push
BIRMINGHAM Airport is launching a large-scale recruitment drive to cope with an influx of holidaymakers since Covid testing rules were relaxed.
Many travellers took to social media to complain about long wait times of more than an hour to get through airport security.
Pictures showed hundreds of passengers in line for the security point last Thursday while travellers reported having to run through the terminal to make their flights, which took off late as a result of the delays.
The airport’s workforce has been cut by 43 per cent since the start of the pandemic. An airport spokesperson said the queues were a result of a “huge increase” in passenger numbers since Covid testing guidelines were eased.
Recent recruitment efforts have seen a “great uptake”, the airport said. However staff levels are still not enough to cope with increased passenger numbers.
Clare Elsby, 56, was catching a flight home to Belfast that evening when she said only two of the security lanes were open. She said: “I was in the queue for at least an hour.
“I’d already checked in and as soon as I turned round the corner I was met with a queue of around 200 people, maybe more.
“Some were very elderly and had no place to sit down. We were all just stuck there standing in this queue.
“People were frustrated because there was no communication while we were waiting as to what the issue was and when I finally got through to the security point, only two lines were open. To be fair to the staff, they were working flat out but it just took so long to get through.
“No one had time to stop in duty free or at the concessions. Everyone was literally legging it for the gate.”
With passenger numbers set to surge even higher in coming months, Birmingham Airport is launching a mass recruitment drive to cope with the forecast demand. A jobs fair is taking place on Thursday (March 3) to showcase the roles available.
An airport spokesperson said: “With the relaxation of testing, and passengers taking advantage of easier travel abroad, we have seen a huge increase in passenger numbers which at times has resulted in some queuing at security.
“Aviation has been severely impacted by the pandemic and as a result our workforce reduced by 43 per cent.
“The airport is implementing a large-scale recruitment drive to meet the forecast increase in demand for 2022. Whilst we have seen a great uptake, this is not yet in line with our passenger numbers. We have our second jobs fair of the year on March 3, which will showcase the available roles across the site.”