Security staff needed at airport plagued by delays

There were long queues on Wednesday

The BBC has been told Birmingham Airport needs at least 100 more security agents as delays for passengers enter a third day.

Travellers hoping to get away ahead of the long weekend have been stuck in queues and missed flights.

Multiple holidaymakers said they had spent hours waiting for a lift to the airport's security area.

The airport said it had an active year-round recruitment campaign for security officers and recent problems were down to a technical issue.

A source told the BBC that the number of vacant positions meant security staff felt overstretched, making it harder to recruit and retain staff.

It comes as the airport has been undergoing improvements for more than a year, with multi million-pound upgrades to its security hall nearing completion.

But it has meant delays for passengers at busy periods, and issues began again ahead of the May bank holiday.

The airport said it could not confirm how many people had been unable to board flights in the past 72 hours, directing questions to individual airlines.

The airport has been undergoing improvements for more than a year

Lisa Ruston, who was flying from Birmingham Airport to Cape Verde on Wednesday, said staff were helpful but it took her almost two hours to even get to security.

"Only three of the lifts are working and one is used for fast track," she said.

"They definitely need more staff around to help people, it's all very confusing."

Lisa Ruston said it took her almost two hours to clear security

Roger Burton, who missed his flight from Birmingham to Alicante on Monday, previously said he spent about £165 on a new flight and would also have to cover taxi costs to the airport again.

“It was absolutely disgusting the way we were treated,” Mr Burton said.

He added passengers were "herded like cattle” through the airport and described a “crush of people” waiting for elevators.

Technical issues

Birmingham Airport said on Monday that a technical problem had compounded its peak departure period.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: "We realise that the building works are extensive and have impacted the terminal, and at times our customer service level, and for this we apologise."

Bosses directed people to the airport's website for the latest information and advice on speeding up search times.

When asked about staffing, a spokesperson added: "Birmingham Airport has an active year-round recruitment campaign for its security officers.

"Both classroom and on the job training takes months to complete, hence our continual recruitment.”