Birmingham: General Airport Discussion & Updates

[Birmingham Aviation]

Anyone know if Kevin Farrel is ok as he hasn’t been on active here for a few days.
Asking as a kind gesture

 

[TM3]

Less flights = less passengers, BHX charge more so their happy, but the restaurants/shops etc lose out and profits drop so their unhappy. So in the long term the shops etc may decide to close and then the airport loses rent unless at the same peak times with less passengers the shops etc decide to charge more. So who loses out in the end.....Passengers. Talk about bite off the hand that feeds them.

Not sure how important the shops are to the makeup of airport revenue but passengers aren't spending money in the shops if they are stuck in security queues and then having to go directly to the gate.

At the end of the day the airport can max out the capacity with people queuing out of the door but how many people are going to come back year in year when they know that us the norm? Over time it's going to erode premiums and passenger numbers.

 

[Ianbutty]

The choice is simple for people who want to fly. Either...

Go to BHX next year after the works are completed and the place looks and feels far better than today (great in fact), and when all the bad publicity has ended, but with a memory of a poor experience this year or of reading the social media trolls. Short journey, familiar place, family can drop you off or taxi to get there. Short journey home of the way back and kettle on withing half an hour...

Or spend a couple of extra hours travelling to an unfamiliar airport, with the prospect of the same journey home, and parking costs, and with no guarantee of an easy time at the airport.

We all know that junk food is bad for us. But as creatures of habit we keep eating it, because we like the convenience, even if the convenience is not necessarily good at the time.

 

[TM3]

No point in pretending the experience passengers have had is anything other than bad.

Many people book their holidays for next year as soon as they get back. For a lot of people going to EMA, in reality is not going to take a lot different and in comparsion with their last experience they may find it stacks up favourably and choose to continue to go there.

Personally I'm not confident that the situation will be better next year, or if it is better there doesn't seem to be much ambition to get waiting times below 1 hour, which is still a long time to wait to get through security.

 

[Aviador]

Not sure how important the shops are to the makeup of airport revenue but passengers aren't spending money in the shops if they are stuck in security queues and then having to go directly to the gate.

HUGE is the answer.

 

[rollo]

No point in pretending the experience passengers have had is anything other than bad.


Personally I'm not confident that the situation will be better next year, or if it is better there doesn't seem to be much ambition to get waiting times below 1 hour which is still a long time to wait to get through security.

To be honest anyone who works at the airport thinks that 1hr to clear security is acceptable is in the wrong job.

Noticed today that the usual anonymous airport spokesperson described todays double stacked queue outside was long and skinny so that's all right then,!

I can hardly wait wait for my turn next week when no doubt it'll be piddling down

 

[Aviador]

I know this is the General thread but please keep any further discussions on the security queue in the security thread. I'm a sure those who don't wish to read about the queue will appreciate not having three threads all discussing the same topic.

 

[JENNYJET]

Regretably, the security issues at BHX have become a major news item amongst our precious media landscape. It is happening and is liable to reporting by people with a negative bent upon life. Will such individuels be seeking the positive outcome upon the completions of the work in question ?

 

[Deleted member 8277]

Regretably, the security issues at BHX have become a major news item amongst our precious media landscape. It is happening and is liable to reporting by people with a negative bent upon life. Will such individuels be seeking the positive outcome upon the completions of the work in question ?

Yes the media has picked up on it and quite rightly, but the real people suffering are the thousands of passengers affected, it is ongoing and will be for a unknown time. Negativity over a flawed operation is understandable passengers need to know what to expect when going on holiday from BHX at peak times. Positive praise has to be earnt and regrettably at the moment there is nothing to praise.

 

[JF57]

To add even more embarrassment for the airport the England football players' luggage seems to have been damaged and trampled on. Can it get any worse .....

England players' clothes spill onto the tarmac at Birmingham Airport before flight for Euro 2024 https://mol.im/a/13514917

 

[Ray Finkle]

Hmm.

Causing their 'crisp white T-shirts to be scattered across the runway' implies to me that something wasn't quite fastened properly? 🤔

Still, not really something BHX needs when it's in the spotlight for all of the wrong reasons.

 

[jfy1999]

Apparently, if the journalists are to be believed, every bit of tarmac at an airport is a “runway”. I’ve seen it in multiple news articles so it must be true!

as for the kits, well, the kit man might have a minor headache…I doubt the players will notice. The real concern is to prevent this sort of thing ever happening to the baggage of “ordinary” passengers… as they won’t have such a privilege.

 

[HPsauce]

Apparently, if the journalists are to be believed, every bit of tarmac at an airport is a “runway”. I’ve seen it in multiple news articles so it must be true!

Likewise, it infuriates me when terms such as " the aircraft was held on the runway for X number of hours"......as if!!.

It shows how ignorant the media can be, and how minor problems get blown up to huge incidents.

 

[TM3]

I wonder how long the team had to queue outside for?

 

[HPsauce]

They depart from the Executive Jet side, so no queuing!. However it departed late!.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Looking at potential flights to Rome next May. For the four of us flight only

Jet2 from BHX £1523
easyjet from BRS £864.24

Plenty of options yet but if we do decide on Rome then unfortunately it'll likely be from elsewhere 🙁

 

[Aviador]

Mrs Aviador is desperate to got to Rome.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Mrs Aviador is desperate to got to Rome.

We went around 2004ish, fascinating place.

My daughter loves her history and loves her pasta 🙂

 

[Ray Finkle]

Almost 40% increase in coach journeys to/from Birmingham Airport.

https://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/media-information/news/2024/07/national-express-announces-surge-in-coach-passengers-for-birmingham-airport/

 

[jfy1999]

Almost 40% increase in coach journeys to/from Birmingham Airport.

https://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/media-information/news/2024/07/national-express-announces-surge-in-coach-passengers-for-birmingham-airport/

I will be one of them in September, but i wasn’t intending to be - I booked a day trip to Oxford but I entered BHX as my departure point instead of Birmingham city centre and didn’t notice the mistake until i had paid for it!!

It’s a good job the airport is so accessible by public transport 😆