Birmingham airport security fast track
Discussion
Flew out BHX to FCO Rome last Sunday (16 Jun). I flew Jet2.
Checked bag in at Zone A. Then went to go upstairs to go thru Security. At this point I had to join the queue for the lifts. Only the queue started from outside, roughly where the Jet2 checkin desks are!
The queue was horrendous.
My flight was leaving at 0800. I now had 60 mins left. Some staff came outside and called out for anyone whose flight was leaving at 0800 to come out of the queue and join the express queue. I did so. This took me back inside, but then got a mouthful from others who accused me of queue jumping. To shut them up I joined the back of another queue alongside others who had paid express.
Eventually I made it up in time. But the arrangements are chaotic. The staff need to get involved otherwise you just get into arguments after moving to a queue that the staff have directed you to.
To cap it all off, flight took off an hour late!!
Checked bag in at Zone A. Then went to go upstairs to go thru Security. At this point I had to join the queue for the lifts. Only the queue started from outside, roughly where the Jet2 checkin desks are!
The queue was horrendous.
My flight was leaving at 0800. I now had 60 mins left. Some staff came outside and called out for anyone whose flight was leaving at 0800 to come out of the queue and join the express queue. I did so. This took me back inside, but then got a mouthful from others who accused me of queue jumping. To shut them up I joined the back of another queue alongside others who had paid express.
Eventually I made it up in time. But the arrangements are chaotic. The staff need to get involved otherwise you just get into arguments after moving to a queue that the staff have directed you to.
To cap it all off, flight took off an hour late!!
Faz-n8om6 said:
Flew out BHX to FCO Rome last Sunday (16 Jun). I flew Jet2.
Checked bag in at Zone A. Then went to go upstairs to go thru Security. At this point I had to join the queue for the lifts. Only the queue started from outside, roughly where the Jet2 checkin desks are!
The queue was horrendous.
My flight was leaving at 0800. I now had 60 mins left. Some staff came outside and called out for anyone whose flight was leaving at 0800 to come out of the queue and join the express queue. I did so. This took me back inside, but then got a mouthful from others who accused me of queue jumping. To shut them up I joined the back of another queue alongside others who had paid express.
Eventually I made it up in time. But the arrangements are chaotic. The staff need to get involved otherwise you just get into arguments after moving to a queue that the staff have directed you to.
To cap it all off, flight took off an hour late!!
I flew into Birmingham last night.Checked bag in at Zone A. Then went to go upstairs to go thru Security. At this point I had to join the queue for the lifts. Only the queue started from outside, roughly where the Jet2 checkin desks are!
The queue was horrendous.
My flight was leaving at 0800. I now had 60 mins left. Some staff came outside and called out for anyone whose flight was leaving at 0800 to come out of the queue and join the express queue. I did so. This took me back inside, but then got a mouthful from others who accused me of queue jumping. To shut them up I joined the back of another queue alongside others who had paid express.
Eventually I made it up in time. But the arrangements are chaotic. The staff need to get involved otherwise you just get into arguments after moving to a queue that the staff have directed you to.
To cap it all off, flight took off an hour late!!
My flight was an hour late; a flight time that didn't need to be an hour later. The pilot's announced the reason for lateness, but it was inaudible apart from "Birmingham".
It seems to me that Birmingham is to this year what Manchester was to last.
We're going through it again on the 5th, and as we're travelling with the in laws and our first experience of travelling with a toddler we've already got Fast Track confirmed thankfully.
Pretty sure they said the works would all be done by the start of June - are they doing the usual BHX thing of running late for no apparent reason?
Pretty sure they said the works would all be done by the start of June - are they doing the usual BHX thing of running late for no apparent reason?
This is becoming tricky.
My favourite airport Doncaster Sheffield is closed, at least for now.
My standin was bhx which was pretty s
t last time I flew in and out.
Daughter flew from Manchester earlier and it was a stshow.
We are flying into t3 Heathrow in the morning. Not looking forward to it.
It’s all a big mess.
My favourite airport Doncaster Sheffield is closed, at least for now.
My standin was bhx which was pretty s
t last time I flew in and out.Daughter flew from Manchester earlier and it was a s
tshow.We are flying into t3 Heathrow in the morning. Not looking forward to it.
It’s all a big mess.
surveyor said:
This is becoming tricky.
My favourite airport Doncaster Sheffield is closed, at least for now.
My standin was bhx which was pretty st last time I flew in and out.
Daughter flew from Manchester earlier and it was a stshow.
We are flying into t3 Heathrow in the morning. Not looking forward to it.
It’s all a big mess.
East Midlands is the wayMy favourite airport Doncaster Sheffield is closed, at least for now.
My standin was bhx which was pretty s
t last time I flew in and out.Daughter flew from Manchester earlier and it was a s
tshow.We are flying into t3 Heathrow in the morning. Not looking forward to it.
It’s all a big mess.
albeit with quite a poor choice of flights
Phil. said:
SP_ said:
East Midlands is the way
albeit with quite a poor choice of flights
What are the car park charges at East Mids? I’ve given up parking at BHX in the past 2 years due to their silly price increases. albeit with quite a poor choice of flights
There is also a £2 bus (Skylink from Leicester & Derby/Nottingham), so you could park at a nearby stop and just jump on the bus direct to Terminal.
surveyor said:
This is becoming tricky.
My favourite airport Doncaster Sheffield is closed, at least for now.
My standin was bhx which was pretty st last time I flew in and out.
Daughter flew from Manchester earlier and it was a stshow.
We are flying into t3 Heathrow in the morning. Not looking forward to it.
It’s all a big mess.
Sad thing BHX used to be my choice of airports to fly from for work. Easy enough to get to, plenty of cheap parking (if you booked ahead or used the station) easy enough to transit through and had a useful smoking area by the gates. My favourite airport Doncaster Sheffield is closed, at least for now.
My standin was bhx which was pretty s
t last time I flew in and out.Daughter flew from Manchester earlier and it was a s
tshow.We are flying into t3 Heathrow in the morning. Not looking forward to it.
It’s all a big mess.
It's still easy enough to get to, but the station parking is getting a bit steep and it's a nightmare as soon as you enter the premises.
I'd probably rather drive the extra hour to T5 these days....
surveyor said:
This is becoming tricky.
My favourite airport Doncaster Sheffield is closed, at least for now.
My standin was bhx which was pretty st last time I flew in and out.
Daughter flew from Manchester earlier and it was a stshow.
We are flying into t3 Heathrow in the morning. Not looking forward to it.
It’s all a big mess.
Agreed. BHX is 30 minutes from me so it's always been my preference. EMA is far too small for the number of passengers that pass through with not even seating or facilities.My favourite airport Doncaster Sheffield is closed, at least for now.
My standin was bhx which was pretty s
t last time I flew in and out.Daughter flew from Manchester earlier and it was a s
tshow.We are flying into t3 Heathrow in the morning. Not looking forward to it.
It’s all a big mess.
I'm favouring the 90 minute run down to Heathrow these days, T3 isn't too bad but T5 is a pleasure compared to most UK options now. Having said that I found myself at T4 earlier in the year, what an epic ballache that was!!
I will do anything to avoid LHR.
Vast majority of the issues at BHX seem to be people trying to get to the 6am - 7am departures. Look at the scheduled departures and there are many many holiday flight routes at this hour. Always a busy time for any touristy airport. I blame the airport for allowing so many to leave at this time (obviously 5 planes can't take off at exactly 6am). These people then see the delays and arrive earlier, adding to the queues. Plus they are all in holiday-mode creating more drama at security with kids, inflatable neck supports (for a 2-3 hour flight?!) and other crap.
A smaller issue is the stupid 'lifts only' to departures. These are not Dubai-sized lifts! Escalators are fine anywhere else in the world but deemed unsafe for BHX.
Smallest issue is the liquids/new departure process.
I avoid the early departures and have had no issues so far. Buy Fast Track too just in case, it's only a fiver.
Vast majority of the issues at BHX seem to be people trying to get to the 6am - 7am departures. Look at the scheduled departures and there are many many holiday flight routes at this hour. Always a busy time for any touristy airport. I blame the airport for allowing so many to leave at this time (obviously 5 planes can't take off at exactly 6am). These people then see the delays and arrive earlier, adding to the queues. Plus they are all in holiday-mode creating more drama at security with kids, inflatable neck supports (for a 2-3 hour flight?!) and other crap.
A smaller issue is the stupid 'lifts only' to departures. These are not Dubai-sized lifts! Escalators are fine anywhere else in the world but deemed unsafe for BHX.
Smallest issue is the liquids/new departure process.
I avoid the early departures and have had no issues so far. Buy Fast Track too just in case, it's only a fiver.
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