Using Birmingham Airport (Questions & Reviews)

[tompo]

Exactly the same happened to me when I arrived from Australia a couple of weeks ago. I had chosen not to to use International telecom roaming as Whatsapp is often more preferable. My meeter had not turned up and the Airport WIFI messaged that it did not support the medium. I was basically stuffed and this is not what you need after travelling 27 hrs. Coupled with this, the Taxi line held about 150 people ( at least two hrs wait) The international train station’s booking office closed for lease and the Airport interior was in need of some refreshing. I was not at all impressed and, if the Airport wishes to compete, it must improve it's service offering.

 

[richard winterbourn]

It does sound as if there is something seriously wrong with wifi at Birmingham. Like Tompo I prefer to message with WhatsApp and, similarly, I was stuffed.

In my case I asked someone at the airport if he had Internet access. He did and phoned my wife fir me...

Hit and miss is not good enough. If the airport is going to boast free WiFi, it needs to work for everyone....

Post automatically merged: Nov 14, 2022

Tempo, looks like we are own on this one. Clearly no-one appreciates how infuriatingly is that when you log on to the Internet at airports throught the civilised world, you cannot log on when you arrive in Birmingham.....

On my last trip from Central Brasil I had four flights, each one on time and arriving in Brum on the button ---- to be be met with no internet connection and my train was cancelled!!!

Are we really happy that we are sliding into mediocrity in this country? Unless we rise up and challenge poor service we are going to slide even further behind our European neighbours.

So simply, Internet connection at Birmingham Airport is not fit for purpose. Rise up collectively and let's do something about it.

What's the purpose of gunning for new services when the public can be let down when they arrive....?

 

[Brum X]

I am really sorry Richard but when you say Wifi, are you referring to the airport's wifi or the signal ? If you are referring to the airport's wifi, then yes I agree it isn't good enough and i'm afraid the UK fell behind our european neighbours years ago and only getting worse. You only have to travel through european airports to know this. Our airports are a disgrace by comparison.

However did you not have any data on your phone from your mobile provider ? I wouldn't travel anywhere if I had to rely on free wifi, how can you guarantee that will work anywhere ?

As a minimum I guarantee I have at least 1GB of my own data from EE before I go anywhere, just in case these issues arise. But as you say if the airport offers a free service, they should honour it.

 

[Matt995]

drop Nick Barton an email about the wifi issues, or even tweet them? Maybe the airport management are not aware of the issues, sure it can be fixed quite easily?

 

[richard winterbourn]

Brum X thank you for your comment. But, can I tell where I am coming from?

I am nearly 78 and find celulars/internet/Gbs quite confusing. Maybe I am just too old to get a hold of all these changes in technology...

But I do have a Samsung Androud phone which, whether I am central Brasil, Portugal, Italy or wherever, serves my needs well. I log onto the airport's WiFi and I gather all the information I want - even in the middle of Brasil!

But when I arrived at Birmingham Airport on Saturday to WhatsApp my wife to say I was there and safe, I could not log on....

As for the comment that why don't i email Barton????

Seriously, he is the one in control of a multi-million £ enterprise that should be concerned with passenger welfare - not me!

And, if he does not know what's going on with wifi problems at Birmingham, there is something very seriously wrong.

You are a good, sensible chap Brum X, but we are not all young tech-savvy dudes. Many of us are old and confused by technology...

 

[Matt995]

As for the comment that why don't i email Barton????

Seriously, he is the one in control of a multi-million £ enterprise that should be concerned with passenger welfare - not me!

And, if he does not know what's going on with wifi problems at Birmingham, there is something very seriously wrong.

actually Richard, you would be surprised to know most company CEO's have no idea about minor issues like this, bringing something like this to his attention might solve the problem, and you and 1000's of travellers will be happy, and the airports reputation improves!

 

[Brum X]

Brum X thank you for your comment. But, can I tell where I am coming from?

I am nearly 78 and find celulars/internet/Gbs quite confusing. Maybe I am just too old to get a hold of all these changes in technology...

But I do have a Samsung Androud phone which, whether I am central Brasil, Portugal, Italy or wherever, serves my needs well. I log onto the airport's WiFi and I gather all the information I want - even in the middle of Brasil!

But when I arrived at Birmingham Airport on Saturday to WhatsApp my wife to say I was there and safe, I could not log on....

As for the comment that why don't i email Barton????

Seriously, he is the one in control of a multi-million £ enterprise that should be concerned with passenger welfare - not me!

And, if he does not know what's going on with wifi problems at Birmingham, there is something very seriously wrong.

You are a good, sensible chap Brum X, but we are not all young tech-savvy dudes. Many of us are old and confused by technology...

Sorry to sound sarcastic richard and I don't mean to be but you use WhatsApp which means you are very tech-savvy for somebody of your age

As I have mentioned you need to get some data on your phone from your mobile provider, you will have to pay for this and you are talking perhaps £10 for 5GB of data which means in emergencies such as you have described, your phone has its own wifi that you can use to access the internet/WhatsApp. How do you pay for you mobile phone, do you have a contract with a mobile provider or pay as you go ?

Yes I understand the airport provide free Wifi but you can't guarantee free wifi will work anywhere (even though it should) ?? This will then give you peace of mind that you will have access to the internet when you land back at BHX. Sorry to sound like a stuck record but this is what you need to do.

I've even seen free wifi not working on aircraft when I have watched airline trip reports, but what do you expect if its free. It normally means it is rubbish

 

[rollo]

As this thread has gone dormant since covid thought I'd give it a little nudge.

Departing BHX on a P&O charter cruise flight 27th January on a TUI 789

I have to say BHX excelled itself,the flight has a dedicated check in area including P&O staff who pre check your your travel insurance and covid status ( not fully vaccinated you ain't going) then normal check in total time was about 15 minutes then on to security which was literally straight through the biggest delay was me getting my belt off.The flight was fine, departed slightly late but we arrived on time.

On our return we landed on schedule no delay in connecting the airbrdge, through passport control in a jiffy and bags 15min later. I know its the low season and the airport was quiet but I couldn't fault the airport in anyway whatsoever.

So in contrast how was the arrival/departure experience in Bridgetown?

The answer in short is at least as good if not better.

Arrival, no immigration or customs control at all just down the aircraft steps onto the waiting coaches and direct to the ship your holiday luggage arrives at your cabin shortly after you do.
To board the ship show passport, have your photo taken and receive cruise card which contains your details and said photo get on ship and enjoy holiday visiting eight different countries no passports required or other documentation to show other than your cruise card if requested when entering. The reality is you walk off the ship show you card as you walk past someone at the end of the pier if their is actually anyone that laid back doesn't describe it.

During the two weeks no other documents othter than your cruise card to leave or return to the ship but eventually you do get to meet the Barbados immigration officers on your departure date when they obligingly visit the ship and you show them your passport which the take a photograph of, smile and say hope that you had a nice holiday you are then able to wonder around Bridgetown even though you have already spent a day and a night there on arriival until its time to go to the airport, show passport go through scanner total time 5mins max and go fly home.

 

[jfy1999]

Yesterday I flew EZY192 - BHX-BFS and unfortunately there were very long security queues stretching back into Departures. The “fast track” lane was also at a standstill. I arrived rather late to begin with (7:30 AM with the gate scheduled to close at 8:20). Having only a small cabin bag I had gone straight to security but it wasn’t until shortly after 8:20 that I got through.

My experience was brightened up somewhat by the way a supervisor reprimanded one passenger who had ducked under a tape - “This is a civilisation - this isn’t Manchester Airport, where anarchy reigns!” I imagine some people might have taken this the wrong way but the passenger seemed to take it with good humour.

At the gate I found that boarding hadn’t started because Swissport were short of ground staff. It took another 10-15 minutes for boarding to start and during that time many more people who had been delayed in security arrived behind me. Eventually we departed roughly 30 minutes late.

BHX is clearly short of staff in key areas and it seems the new security area can’t come soon enough. However, the supervisors who I approached for help were very proactive.

 

[Matty_85]

Yesterday I flew EZY192 - BHX-BFS and unfortunately there were very long security queues stretching back into Departures. The “fast track” lane was also at a standstill. I arrived rather late to begin with (7:30 AM with the gate scheduled to close at 8:20). Having only a small cabin bag I had gone straight to security but it wasn’t until shortly after 8:20 that I got through.

My experience was brightened up somewhat by the way a supervisor reprimanded one passenger who had ducked under a tape - “This is a civilisation - this isn’t Manchester Airport, where anarchy reigns!” I imagine some people might have taken this the wrong way but the passenger seemed to take it with good humour.

At the gate I found that boarding hadn’t started because Swissport were short of ground staff. It took another 10-15 minutes for boarding to start and during that time many more people who had been delayed in security arrived behind me. Eventually we departed roughly 30 minutes late.

BHX is clearly short of staff in key areas and it seems the new security area can’t come soon enough. However, the supervisors who I approached for help were very proactive.

I had a similar experience but couldn’t fault the supervisor there at the time (man, 40s maybe?). I do think BHX offer excellent customer service. Only frustration came when boarding the Easyjet flight and they forgot to call the speedy priority passengers first but I guess that was swissport staff.

 

[adamak1]

Recently flew with Jet2 and it was my first time entering the security area from the Jet2 check in area. I flew with Jet2 this time last year and we weren't able to enter the security area from that side of check in. I know its been a year since I last travelled with Jet2 so I was wondering, has the entrance for security by the jet2 check in area recently opened due to the works happening on the security area or has it been open for a while now?

Also, as we came back into the UK, we were taken to a different border force area. Im guessing all/most Jet2 flights are now being handled in the other terminal. However, it took a very long time for us to get past border control. There were only 3 officers there and there were none of those machines where you can scan your passport yourself and go through. With summer approaching, the airport should really do something about the border force on that side of the airport to make the process a lot quicker.

Apologies in advance if this is the wrong thread to post this in.

 

[Ray Finkle]

Daughter arrived home today on Vueling from Barcelona.

I had a message at 15:19 saying that she'd just got off the plane, 11 minutes later I had another message saying that she'd just got through immigration, 21 minutes after that I got another message saying that she had collected her bag and was almost on the coach

It's a quieter time of day but still seems like a decent performance

The only gripe she had was that in her opinion the e gate machines were 'taking ages'. I did say that a large group of 15 year olds (34 of em) all trying to get through might have slowed things down a little

 

[JENNYJET]

ah, like herding cats. Technology cannot do everything I imagine. Even AI might have a wobble.

 

[Kevin Farnell]

ah, like herding cats. Technology cannot do everything I imagine. Even AI might have a wobble.

I don't know what would be harder - herding cats, or herding teenagers?

 

[Ray Finkle]

Very busy in the early hours of yesterday morning, I didn't notice Jet2 but the TUi check-in area in particular was absolutely heaving. With it being so busy and with all the works currently taking place we were dreading security but we needn't have worried as just a little over 15 minutes after joining the queue Mrs F and the kids were spending in World Duty Free.

Departure lounge was also very busy but we timed it just right for a table at Wetherspoons for breakfast. After a stroll along the pier we made our way to the much quieter T2 and sat down in All Bar One for a birthday prosecco (or two). Mrs F had never been to T2 before and she remarked just how much calmer it is than the mayhem of the T1 departure lounge. I think All Bar One must have been 50%, if that.

Boarding was via steps from gate 16 onto G-UZHO. FR24 tells me we departed 12 mins late but with only a 48 min flight time we landed in EDI 15 mins ahead of schedule, even with a slight dog leg over the lake district to avoid thunder storms. Nice, efficient flight with very friendly cabin crew. No issues with EDI airport arrivals although it is looking rather shabby now, even my lad said that the staircase was 'disgusting'.

Short tram ride from our hotel to EDI this morning. With recent reviews about their security we were not looking forward to it to say the least and with an absolutely packed check-in hall we feared the worst. I'm assuming that by arriving mid-morning we must have missed the peak as it was a breeze. Even with Mrs F's bag requiring further checks it took only 10 mins or so. I must also point out the friendliness of the security guy who spent some time showing my youngest how their machines work, he was really impressed. I did notice just how small the security area was though and can imagine it must be chaos at peak times.

After a bit of shopping and a bite to eat we boarded G-EZWH from gate 21. FR24 tells me we departed 16 mins late but landed only 2 mins after the STA, again no complaints whatsoever with easyjet.

Arrived on stand 14 and had a little wait for steps to be attached to the front of the aircraft. As we were seated on one of the last rows we were waiting for rear steps, which arrived once pretty much everyone was off, I think only 2 gentlemen actually used them. I did overhear one cabin crew member saying something along the lines of "and this airport will be a base from next year", I assume they expected the rear steps upon arrival and not once almost everybody was off.

Overall no issues with BHX although I will be leaving extra time until the security area is completed, just in case. The T1 departure lounge seems to be the weak point now, especially if one wants something to eat or drink at peak times. The pier is still my oasis of calm but I really hope that once the new security area is done they recommence works on the departure lounge extension, it really needs it. Nice friendly flights with easyjet, we were in row 28 and there were a few empty seats behind us but looking down the aircraft there seemed fairly healthy loads on both legs.

 

[thunderchild]

We arrived back yesterday after a week in Kos and I’d say the experience was pretty much the same as Ray’s. The Jet2 bag drop queue was very fast and we were straight through security - I’d say the whole experience took 20 minutes. Both flights were bang on time and what was good was the plane that was originally allocated for our outbound flight had been diverted to Munich in the early hours but Jet2 had a back up aircraft sorted - can’t help but feel if that had been TUI we’d have ended up with a big delay or shipped off to a hotel. Passport control and baggage reclaim was pretty quick too but we did arrive back at a relatively quieter period.

Both flights were fairly uneventful and as mentioned right on schedule which was the important thing and they appear very well organised. My only gripe with Jet2 is that they are as cheesey as hell, the inflight announcements come across like they’re talking to three year olds - the “famously friendly in flight service” was fine but in reality nothing different to my experiences on Monarch, TUI and Thomas Cook (although in fairness better than Ryanair). Maybe it was Jess Glynne screeching as we boarded that put me off!

The other thing that made me laugh was on arrival we were told to look out for the Jet2 staff and their “famous big welcoming smiles” - well the first Jet2 rep I saw on the ground was wearing a face mask!

All in all though a great holiday - although it did get very hot towards the end.

 

[Ray Finkle]

One thing I forgot to mention was just how busy the arrivals area was by Costa.

Coming through at around half 2 ish on a Sunday with recent arrivals from EK, QR and SV alongside the regular stuff kind of resembled the German Market in December.

Purely from my perspective as a pax I want the departure lounge extension to start as soon as the security area is done but if we are to keep on growing then I can't see it being too much longer until the arrivals area needs expansion.

 

[Karl C]

Flew BHX-DUS on way to İzmir this morning. Eurowings desk opened less than two hours before departure and I thought, due to this, that I'd be legging it to the plane. Not so. Security was a breeze this morning and all channels open and working like clockwork. Made for a seamless experience. Air Baltic late in from Düsseldorf and late leaving BHX, but the A220 is a nice spacious aircraft so I just kicked back and an hour later was in Düsseldorf. Just waiting for the İzmir flight now. Eurowings are just your average airline. Nothing special tbh, but have a huge presence at DUS.
So far so good
Outbound load 109 pax

 

[Ray Finkle]

Check-in areas were very busy in the early hours of last Monday morning. Having already dropped off our bags the evening before we headed to security where there was no queue whatsoever, we walked straight through. Departure lounge was steady but plenty of tables in Wetherspoons for our egg on toast, this didn't last long though and it soon filled up. After a stroll along the pier we headed back to the T1 departure lounge where it was horrendously busy so, despite the screens showing 'go to gates 40-68', we headed to the relative peace and quiet of T2 and a drink in the much more pleasant All Bar One (I'd checked FR24 beforehand and seen that the aircraft we were on had arrived at T2 on it's previous flight so took the gamble).

Boarding from gate 16 in T2 was efficient and despite departing around 20 mins late we had an early arrival into GRO. We were met by the usual smiling faces with no less than four people guiding us on the short walk from the terminal to the taxi.

Return this morning again saw lots of smiling faces at the airport, my daughter was amazed how they could be so cheerful that early in the morning Departed 35 mins late but arrived back in Birmingham only 11 mins behind schedule. Arrived on stand 3 and after the short walk to UKBF we were seen pretty much straight away, baggage belt took just over 15 mins to start meaning from landing to taxi home was just under 40 mins.

Outbound aircraft was G-GDFD with G-DRTI operating the return. Considering they they are 26 and 18 years old respectively they were immaculate. My only (minor) complaint was no window blinds on either which made it rather uncomfortably warm with the sun shining through, nothing a strategically placed safety card couldn't solve though


I said a few weeks ago how I hope that the departure lounge extension will restart once the security works are done. We got there early so managed to get a table for breakfast but it wasn't long before everywhere was full with so many people circling. Once again I gave our table to a desperate looking family with young children and finished my drink stood up. The T1 departure lounge reminded me of the Bullring on a busy Saturday afternoon, any extension cannot come soon enough.

The T2 departure lounge by comparison is so much calmer but I do worry about it's arrivals. We were the first Jet2 flight back from the morning wave of departures so it was very quiet but with several aircraft arriving in quick succession I can imagine things getting very cramped. With the potential of 17 based aircraft for the S24 peak season I wonder how far it can be pushed before it breaks?

Couldn't speak highly enough of Jet2 and BHX but I do hope some plans to expand the footprint of the building are in the making, it's a nice problem to have though

 

[JENNYJET]

It will break if the airport do not use available space efficiently Sir Raymond. Expanding the fleet is all well and good but if confined to a small space, nothing but negativity will flow in the Social media space. And this is deadly in a world of feedback and opinion websites.

My view is that BHX should invest in the airfield as a whole and use all available acreage to the benefit of it's users. Am pleased you had a decent experience sir.