Queues at Birmingham Airport on Friday morning. Photo: Jodie Rhianon / X
Queues at Birmingham Airport on Friday morning. Photo: Jodie Rhianon / X
Queues at Birmingham Airport on Friday morning. Photo: Jodie Rhianon / X
Queues at Birmingham Airport on Friday morning. Photo: Jodie Rhianon / X

Passengers miss flights due to lengthy queues at Birmingham airport


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

Passengers using one of the UK’s busiest airports have complained that they missed their flights due to building works, which have resulted in lengthy queues outside the hub.

Disgruntled travellers took to social media to complain about the long waits, with reports saying two people were treated for hypothermia on Friday.

Some passengers said they had turned up several hours before their flights but still missed them.

Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines all use the hub. Other airlines, including Jet2, also fly to Middle Eastern destinations from the airport.

Birmingham airport today. My daughter missed her flight,” wrote one passenger on X this week, in a post that was accompanied by a picture of a long queue.

“3.5 hours just waiting outside to enter the airport? This is inhuman! A lot of passengers from tk1970 missed their flights as well. And nobody was there to help. Shame you all!”

A spokeswoman for Turkish Airlines told The National it apologised for the inconvenience to passengers.

“The flights will be delayed further until tomorrow. Please bear with us as we try to resolve the matter as soon as possible,” she said.

One passenger wrote: “Arrived at 12.30 for a 15.55 flight to Milan with EasyJet. We JUST made the flight after jumping the queue for security at the end. Never seen anything like it. Horrendous. And I’ve travelled all over the world. Never again.”

Another traveller said they had already queued for more than an hour, including 40 minutes outside.

“Signs say all will be fixed summer 2024. But when in summer?” he wrote.

The National has contacted the airport for a comment.

Authorities shared a post on social media in recent days, advising passengers that the new security area construction works were continuing.

“This means the queuing area for security is mainly downstairs,” the post said.

The airport recently introduced new technology, which allows people to travel with liquids of up to two litres, but on Wednesday it warned travellers “some restrictions temporarily remain in place”.

It said on its website: “Until further notice, passengers are advised that they can only carry liquids up to 100ml, albeit it can stay in hand luggage and no longer needs to be in a plastic bag, when departing from Birmingham Airport.

“The airport has invested £60 million in its new larger security area. This area is purpose built with simpler, streamlined equipment and will futureproof Birmingham Airport from its current 12 million passengers per year in 2024, to accommodate 18 million passengers per annum by 2033.”

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FINAL RESULT

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Wanderers
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Tigers
Tries: O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
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Pens: Caldwell, Cross

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MATCH STATS

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Aston Villa 1 (El Ghazi 90 4' pen)

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MATCH INFO

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ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

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6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m.

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7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m.

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Funding stage: Seed investment

Initial investment: $200,000

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Soldier F

“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.

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Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?

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FIXTURES

Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan

The top two teams qualify for the World Cup

Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.

Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff

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11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi

Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)

Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)

Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)

Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).

Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)

Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)

Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)

Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)

Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia

Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)

Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)

Updated: June 07, 2024, 3:14 PM`