Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) is the worst in the UK for security queues with some passengers waiting for longer than an hour, a new study has claimed.
Which? asked 1,300 people who passed through a UK airport between February and August of this year how long they were forced to queue before getting through security. According to those surveyed, LBA had the longest wait times, with respondents spending an average of 35 minutes in a queue for security.
Just over a quarter (27 per cent) of those who responded said they were waiting for more than an hour at LBA, compared with just five per cent of passengers overall.
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Overall, there were nine airports in Which?’s survey where travellers reported security queues of over an hour. They included Bristol (17 per cent of respondents), Birmingham (11 per cent), and Manchester (8 per cent). Seven per cent of respondents said they had missed a flight because they were stuck in excessively long queues.
Queues at LBA were slammed by dismayed passengers as 'toxic' and the airport was likened to 'hell' at different points throughout the summer. In August, LBA acknowledged the issues passengers were facing as a result of long queues and installed LCD screens to provide travellers with live updates on estimated wait times.
Responding to the survey, a spokesperson for LBA said: "Earlier this year, like many airports across the UK, we had periods of long queuing due to the rapid resumption of international travel after the lifting of pandemic restrictions. We were transparent about these difficulties at the time and worked hard to address those short-term issues.
"We have since significantly reduced queuing in our terminal. We remain committed to delivering the best possible passenger experience at LBA and being an outstanding airport for our region."
City Airport in East London was the best performing airport, with an average estimated security queue time of just 12 minutes, and as many as 50 per cent of travellers reporting wait times of between just five and 10 minutes. It was also the only London airport not to record any wait times of over an hour.
Guy Hobbs, editor of Which? Travel, said: "Travellers this year have borne the brunt of unprecedented chaos at UK airports, with huge numbers enduring long queues and some even missing a flight due to excessive wait times to clear security. Your choice of airport shouldn’t make or break your holiday – but for too many travellers this year, that has been the case.
"We’d recommend choosing an airport with a better record on queues and treatment of passengers, even if that involves travelling slightly further from home."
The average reported security wait times at UK airports this summer, according to the Which? survey, were as follows:
- London City - 12 minutes
- Belfast City - 13 minutes
- Glasgow International - 13 minutes
- Newcastle - 15 minutes
- London Gatwick - 16 minutes
- Edinburgh - 16 minutes
- London Stansted - 18 minutes
- Belfast International - 18 minutes
- London Luton - 19 minutes
- London Heathrow - 20 minutes
- Manchester - 24 minutes
- Birmingham - 24 minutes
- Bristol - 30 minutes
- Leeds Bradford - 35 minutes
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