London City Airport has the quickest queue when it comes to getting passengers through security, according to research by a consumer group. Travellers spent an average of 12 minutes being processed, compared to much longer queues elsewhere in the UK.
Passengers reported security queues in excess of an hour at nine airports, including Bristol (17% of respondents), Birmingham (11%) and Manchester (8%). Seven per cent of all those surveyed said they missed a flight because they were stuck in a long queue.
There was major disruption at airports across the UK earlier this year due to staffing shortages and a spike in demand for travel after coronavirus restrictions were scrapped.
This led to flight cancellations, problems with baggage handling and long security queues.
Leeds Bradford was named the UK’s worst airport for security queues.
The survey indicated passengers waited an estimated average of 35 minutes at the West Yorkshire airport between February and August. Researchers asked nearly 1,300 people who travelled from a UK airport over that period how long they queued for at security.
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.”
