I saw this article on line which shows BHX is the worst airport in the UK for delays:
news.sky.com
I think this is really bad as one of this things I expect from a regional airport vs LHR for example is that it will be less hassle and fewer delays.
As it says in the article BHX also says "In addition to flight delays, many departing passengers were forced to spend several hours in long queues for check-in and security."
I've seen this first hand and and I know this is a real problem for the airport and it's probably already detering people from travelling through BHX. I don't love going to LHR but at least I can expect to get through security in a reasonable amount of time.
I think the airport must also loose a lot of money in the duty free and retail area as in a lot of cases passengers are having to go straight to the gate instead of shopping. I woudl say this historically has been a moneyspinner for the airport as the have a captive audence to sell overpriced stuff to.
Here is another one about the delays last week:
www.birminghammail.co.uk
It's a repeat of exactly the same problem they had in 2022 which you can kind of excuse a little bit because it was the year after COVID but this time you would have expected them to be prepared!
This is a further article from the BBC which states BHX was worst in 2021 too:
www.bbc.co.uk
I think the BBC article is useful as it states the problem got a lot worse in the second year as average delays were "only 12 minutes" in 2021 but now it's more than half an hour.
I originally posted this on the BHX forum but a lot of people didn't like it there, some even suggested I should just fly from EMA instead which seems like a pretty good idea and I will on the next flight I can.
The trouble is despite performing really well EMA does not get the scheduled routes it deserves IMO. There is a bit catchment area of cities with a lot of business and industry so I don't really see why EMA could not get Emirates and KLM connections. I'd definately use it as there a lot of things that make this airport better an more convenience than BHX right now.
For a start the parking in better and cheaper and there is plenty of space on site. There is no public transport link but that doesn't really matter as I don't have one to Birmingham Airport either. Also I can just drive there and I'm not at the mercy of public transport which means I can get there in the middle of the night or when the train drivers are striking.
I know EMA is a really active airport for cargo and it's in an excellent location for the motorway network. For this reason in particular I think Emirates could work at EMA. I also think with the free limo in business class within a 100mile radius they coudl attract a lot of customers as that picks up a lot of areas that are a really long way away from any of the other big airports.
Congrats EMA on your perfomance here and I woudl have liked to have seen more positive coverage about it in the press.
UK's best and worst airports for flight delays revealed - full list
Packing your bags and planning a holiday this summer? Check out which airport might be the best to travel from and what might be the worst when it comes to delays.
news.sky.com
I think this is really bad as one of this things I expect from a regional airport vs LHR for example is that it will be less hassle and fewer delays.
As it says in the article BHX also says "In addition to flight delays, many departing passengers were forced to spend several hours in long queues for check-in and security."
I've seen this first hand and and I know this is a real problem for the airport and it's probably already detering people from travelling through BHX. I don't love going to LHR but at least I can expect to get through security in a reasonable amount of time.
I think the airport must also loose a lot of money in the duty free and retail area as in a lot of cases passengers are having to go straight to the gate instead of shopping. I woudl say this historically has been a moneyspinner for the airport as the have a captive audence to sell overpriced stuff to.
Here is another one about the delays last week:
'Absolute carnage' at airport as passengers fume over two-hour security queues
BHX said travellers might find themselves queueing downstairs due to construction of its new £40m security hall
www.birminghammail.co.uk
It's a repeat of exactly the same problem they had in 2022 which you can kind of excuse a little bit because it was the year after COVID but this time you would have expected them to be prepared!
This is a further article from the BBC which states BHX was worst in 2021 too:
Birmingham Airport ranked worst for delays for second year
Departures from the airport were on average half an hour behind schedule, analysis reveals.www.bbc.co.uk
I think the BBC article is useful as it states the problem got a lot worse in the second year as average delays were "only 12 minutes" in 2021 but now it's more than half an hour.
I originally posted this on the BHX forum but a lot of people didn't like it there, some even suggested I should just fly from EMA instead which seems like a pretty good idea and I will on the next flight I can.
The trouble is despite performing really well EMA does not get the scheduled routes it deserves IMO. There is a bit catchment area of cities with a lot of business and industry so I don't really see why EMA could not get Emirates and KLM connections. I'd definately use it as there a lot of things that make this airport better an more convenience than BHX right now.
For a start the parking in better and cheaper and there is plenty of space on site. There is no public transport link but that doesn't really matter as I don't have one to Birmingham Airport either. Also I can just drive there and I'm not at the mercy of public transport which means I can get there in the middle of the night or when the train drivers are striking.
I know EMA is a really active airport for cargo and it's in an excellent location for the motorway network. For this reason in particular I think Emirates could work at EMA. I also think with the free limo in business class within a 100mile radius they coudl attract a lot of customers as that picks up a lot of areas that are a really long way away from any of the other big airports.
Congrats EMA on your perfomance here and I woudl have liked to have seen more positive coverage about it in the press.
