Bristol named second worst UK airport for security queues
Consumer group Which? conducted the survey between February and August this year
Last updated 9th Jun 2024
Bristol Airport is the second-worst ranked UK airport for security queues, according to the consumer group, Which?.
They surveyed nearly 1,300 people during February and August, with 27% of people travelling through the worst airport for security queue times - Leeds Bradford - waiting more than 60 minutes to pass through.
In Bristol, that number was 17%.
Birmingham Airport recorded 11%, while Manchester Airport saw 8% of passengers waiting more than an hour to get through the security queue.
In total, seven per cent of people travelling through one of the airports surveyed recorded to Which? that they'd missed a flight because of being stuck in a 'long queue' - which was partly as a result of post-pandemic staffing shortages and a spike in demand for travel.
From the worst-performing airport - Leeds Bradford - a spokesperson said: A spokesman for Leeds Bradford said: "Earlier this year, like many airports across the UK, we had periods of long queueing due to the rapid resumption of international travel after the lifting of pandemic restrictions.
"We were transparent about these difficulties at the time and worked hard to address those short-term issues.
"We have since significantly reduced queueing in our terminal.
"We remain committed to delivering the best possible passenger experience at Leeds Bradford Airport and being an outstanding airport for our region."
Average wait times at UK airports, according to the Which? survey
The average wait times for the survey were measured between February and August, with the top ranked airport more than 20 minutes faster than the bottom-ranked airport for queueing at security:
- London City Airport - 12 minutes =2. Belfast City Airport / Glasgow International Airport - 13 minutes 4. Newcastle Airport - 15 minutes =5. Gatwick Airport / Edinburgh Airport - 16 minutes =7. Stansted Airport / Belfast International Airport - 18 minutes 9. Luton Airport - 19 minutes 10. Heathrow Airport - 20 minutes =11. Manchester Airport / Birmingham Airport - 24 minutes 13. Bristol Airport - 30 minutes 14. Leeds Bradford Airport - 35 minutes
The response
At London City Airport, half of the people travelling through reported to Which? a wait time of between 5 and 10 minutes.
Guy Hobbs, editor of magazine Which? Travel, said: "Travellers this year have borne the brunt of unprecedented chaos at UK airports, with huge numbers enduring long queues and some even missing a flight due to excessive wait times to clear security.
"Your choice of airport shouldn't make or break your holiday - but for too many travellers this year, that has been the case.
"We'd recommend choosing an airport with a better record on queues and treatment of passengers, even if that involves travelling slightly further from home."
A spokesperson for trade body the Airport Operators Association said: "The UK had one of the most restrictive travel regimes in Europe until March and the aviation industry faced significant employment challenges as international travel reopened.
"Our airports have worked tirelessly to alleviate these staff shortages and the overwhelming number of passengers were able to enjoy the summer holidays with minimal disruptions.
"We recognise the impact any delay or disruption can have on passengers and the aviation industry is continuing to work together and with Government to recover from the impacts of the pandemic - and the near-total closure of UK aviation - to ensure that all passengers enjoy the service that passengers have rightly come to expect of UK aviation."
A spokesperson for Bristol Airport said: "During the busy summer season, we were handling over 30,000 customers per day, over 82% of all customers travelling through the Airport went through security in less than 20 minutes.
"Bristol Airport is the fastest customer recovering UK airport from Covid; and customers returned a lot faster than expected this summer.
"This resulted in some congestion at peak times. Whilst we did forecast growth in customer numbers for this year, we experienced load factors for several airlines even higher than anticipated, particularly during the busy summer departure peak times.
"We worked closely with the security partner to reduce the waiting time and improve customer service levels to the normal high standards expected at Security Search. However, staff sickness and recruitment issues did result in resource shortages at times which limited the number of security channels we were able to operate."