Fuming passengers have been left upset after staffing issues led to huge queues at Bristol Airport today (October 21). People trying to board their flights say they have been stuck in queues of around two hours to get through security.
Airport bosses have apologised for today's "unacceptable" issues, which has been blamed on fewer security staff working. However, this appears to have provided little comfort to passengers desperately trying to get on their flight.
One passenger, Michelle Ekin, described the scenes as "hostile", saying that "staff looked bewildered as passengers cut the queue and knocked over barriers". Meanwhile, Talia Jane tweeted that people were crying in the queues as they missed their plane.
READ MORE: Bristol Airport 'chaos' as 'fights break out' in huge queues - updates
She said: "Disgraceful scenes at Bristol Airport this morning - security in chaos, terrible crowd management, 2 hour waits through security which had descended into near-anarchy. People crying missing flights to weddings, funerals, the only way to get to a plane in time was to pay yet more."
Kieron Sheridan, another passenger, says he is "£1,600 out of pocket" after missing his flight. "We missed our flight despite being at airport two hours in advance," he tweeted.
"We queued outside, after an hour we made it through barriers and into another crush. No one was organising, we told staff our flight was in 40 minutes, then 20. They said it would be delayed - just lying, £1,600 compensation please."
Another passenger, Simon Sucksmith, says his children were scared due to the situation. "Utter security chaos, thousands of people all crammed in, loads outside, my children were totally scared," he said.
"There were hardly any staff, and those that were there had no idea what was going on. Swissport, Jet2 and Tui all saying it's the airport security is the issue, I blame them all. This is a fire and security risk as people were pushing through security with minimal checks being done.
"Please can you report this so people know and the airport take action. Our flight to Ibiza is being delayed as there are still 25 people stuck in security, Swissport have no idea what is going on in security, there is no communication between them.
"Our Tui flight is on the apron with people on it at present."
A statement from Bristol Airport issued earlier said: "The security queues in the early morning [21/10/22] were unacceptable and we apologise to all customers who were impacted. Far fewer security staff were working than planned. We’re urgently discussing the issue with our security business partner so passengers receive the service levels they rightly expect.
"The queues at security have now returned to normal. Our advice for passengers flying later today is unchanged - we recommend you arrive at least two hours ahead of your scheduled time of departure."
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