Manchester Airport chaos ‘worse than ever’ as passengers miss flights amid lengthy queues

Passengers arriving at Manchester Airport this morning have once again experienced lengthy security queues, resulting in many missing their flights.

Last week, airport bosses advised passengers to arrive three hours before their flight to ensure queues wouldn’t form – however, this morning passengers have reported being forced to spend ‘hours’ in queues that extended all the way out into the car park.

Frustrated travellers took to social media to share images and videos of the scenes, which have been described as ‘shambolic’, ‘manic’ and ‘absolute chaos’.

Passenger Ryan Hoey arrived at the airport at 5am this morning to catch his 7am flight back to Belfast, but was met with lengthy security queues that stretched all the way outside of the Terminal building.

Ryan told Proper Manchester that while the staff were ‘very helpful’, Manchester Airport ‘needs to get its act together’ and ‘sort out its staffing crisis’.

Detailing the chaotic scenes, Ryan explained: “The staff were very helpful, letting me and other passengers skip the queue when our flight gates were called so we didn’t miss it, and you can’t help but feel sorry for them as they deal with angry customers. 

Read More: Andy Burnham warns queues and disruption at Manchester Airport will continue for ‘two months’

“Manchester Airport really needs to get its act together and sort out the staffing crisis.

“If they can’t attract staff, they should try improving the terms and conditions – not blaming passengers for the high demand.”

Other passengers also took to social media to express their frustrations this morning, with one person questioning: “Gateway to the world @manairport what a total shambles. How long is it going to take to sort this out?”

Ben Leather wrote on Twitter: “As a regular flyer I’ve never seen it this bad. Feel sorry for the overworked staff @manairport who clearly just don’t have the numbers to cope with the passenger load at the moment. Give yourself plenty of time to get through security if you’re flying anytime soon.”

A different passenger, known only as Chantel, explained that while her flight from the Dominican Republic had landed in Manchester at 6:30am, she was still waiting for her luggage at baggage reclaim nearly two hours later at 8am.

She wrote alongside a photo of the crowded area: “When you land at 06.38 get stranded on the tarmac and still waiting for your luggage off the plane. @manairport need more staff.”

Last month, the airport’s managing director Karen Smart stepped down as a result of the lengthy queues and delays.

Smart – who had been with the business for eight years but took on the senior role during the pandemic – formally stepped down on the same day political leaders and unions met with airport bosses to discuss the ‘concerning’ situation.

Smart had previously addressed the airport’s issues, saying in a statement: “We want to apologise to all our customers who have experienced disruption over the last couple of weeks.

“We want to be clear with our customers that getting back to full strength is going to take time and there will unfortunately be periods over the next few weeks when it will take longer to get through the airport than it should.”

Manchester Airport is currently on a ‘major’ recruitment drive to solve the ongoing queues and delays. You can see their current job vacancies here.