Birmingham Airport descended into chaos on Friday morning as long security queues built up ahead of the May bank holiday and school half term, with reports that a pregnant woman fainted after waiting for over an hour.
Passengers took to social media to express their frustration, describing the scenes as 'total chaos' and a 'shambles'. One traveller said that in the express lane, they had not moved for 20 minutes, while another claimed that only three out of eight security machines were open, causing tens of thousands of people to queue.
The airport attributed the disruption to an 'unexpectedly high level of staff absence because of sickness', which meant fewer screening lanes could be opened. A spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience and said the average wait time was 21 minutes, though peak queues were kept under an hour.
Some passengers missed their flights as a result of the delays. The airport said it was working with airlines and affected passengers to rectify the situation.
