Holidaymakers Left Queuing In Car Park For Airport Security

Pictures have emerged showing queues at Manchester Airport snaking all the way out into the carpark at terminal three. 

On Wednesday (25 May), a man named Tony uploaded a photo to Reddit showing long queues of people loaded with luggage waiting in line in the terminal’s car park.

He captioned his post: “Security lane has reached the car park at Manchester Airport, lovely.”

He wasn’t the only person to complain about waiting times at the airport on Monday, with other people sharing complaints of long queues on social media.

One person tweeted: “Manchester Airport. Check in, then sent to car park to pass through security? Ridiculous!” 

Another added: “I just got to Manchester Airport and the queues are horrendous at Terminal 3. A person with a buggy said they were waiting for two hours,” while a third echoed: “If you're looking at getting a drink or food once inside Manchester Airport T3, I'd recommend booking a lounge. 1 bar open, 1hr queue for a drink or food at every shop.

“Horrendous even the vending machines had queues. Airport is a joke. An hour to get through security too.”

Another person bluntly penned: “It turns out there is a hell on earth and it’s called Manchester Airport.”

However, one person noted that although queues had stretched out into the car park, spirits among holidaymakers remained high.

They tweeted: “6am, Manchester airport. Terminal 3 (only recently reopened): Queue into the car park - but moving okay and people seem content enough.”

Only 3 flights leaving terminal 3 Manchester Airport between the hours of 8 and 9.30 am & these are the security queues you’re expected to endure. Is there no end to the conceited attitude displayed by MAG to customers week in week out? Imagine the impact to business and tourism! pic.twitter.com/P2xeAxi2hC

— Dave McGoff (@McGoffDave) May 25, 2022

And it seems not all passengers experienced long delays, with one person writing on Twitter: “Don’t know what people are on about with Manchester Airport. Got my case checked in and through security in 30 mins.”

Another said: “Manchester airport T2 this morning. Got out of the taxi 10 mins ago, jet 2 check in was seamless, no security queues. What’s with all the dramatic headlines?”

A spokesperson for Manchester Airport told LADbible: “Queues out to the car park are actually pretty standard given space inside some of the terminals is quite tight so they are often purposefully used to ease congestion inside.”

They added: “We apologise to any passengers whose experience at Manchester Airport this morning was not how they would like it to be.

“During our ongoing recovery from the pandemic, we continue to advise customers there may be some times when security queues are longer than usual, which is why we advise people to arrive three hours before their flights.

“On Wednesday morning, while the vast majority of people passed through security in under 30 minutes, waiting times peaked at more than 60 mins in one of our terminals for a brief period of time, and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

This is not the first time long delays have landed the airport in hot water recently. Back in April, the airport’s managing director Karen Smart resigned following weeks of travel chaos at the transport hub.

Prior to Smart’s resignation, Councillor Pat Karney said a 'failure of management' was to blame for the long queues at security.