Tui and easyJet have issued advice to passengers travelling from Manchester Airport amid complaints of "horrendous" queues and delays.
Pictures shared on social media show waiting lines that "snake" out of the main doors at Terminal One. Some passengers claim they waited upwards of three hours to even reach security.
Some have even reported missing flights or faced delays. Others have had difficulty collecting their baggage on arrival.
READ MORE: Stranger leaves Range Rover car on family's driveway near Manchester Airport for days
Issuing an apology to passengers, the airport put the queues down to a "combination of factors", including an unexpected number of passengers and a high amount of bags being rejected at security. They advised people to arrive as early as possible for flights.
On Wednesday, Manchester Airport spokesman said: “At times today, security queues in Terminal One have been significantly longer than we would like due to a combination of factors. With the rapid recovery of international travel, it has been much more difficult to predict passenger volumes based on the flights that are due to depart.
"We saw more people than we were expecting, which put a considerable strain on our operation. This was compounded by up to 60% of customer bags being rejected as they passed through security because they contained restricted items – a much higher rate than we typically experience.
“Our colleagues have worked tirelessly to process passengers as quickly as they can and we would like to thank them for their dedication throughout the day. We have deployed staff from other parts of the operation to assist in security and, wherever possible, we have prioritised customers within the queue in order to ensure they make their flights.
“We would like to apologise to those impacted by today’s challenges and assure them we are doing all we can to rectify the situation.
“It is likely waiting times will continue to be longer than we would like for the remainder of this evening, and would urge anyone due to travel through Manchester Airport to arrive at the earliest time recommended by their airline and to ensure they are as prepared as they can be to pass through security.”
easyJet
easyJet has also issued advice for any passengers due to depart from Manchester Airport.
The budget carrier flies to more than 70 resorts, towns and cities from the airport, including parts of the UK, Europe and further afield.
An easyJet spokesperson said: "We are aware of security delays at Manchester airport today and so are advising customers to arrive at the airport with plenty of time ahead of their flight. We continue to work with Manchester airport to ensure our customers’ experience through the airport is as quick and easy as possible."
easyJet flights depart from Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport.
Tui
Amid the reports of delays, Tui has issued guidance to customers due to fly out of Manchester.
Similarly to easyJet, the airline flies to more than 70 global destinations from the airport, including places in Spain, Greece, France and Portugal.
A Tui spokesperson told the ECHO : "We’re advising customers to arrive up to three hours before departure and to allow extra time to go through security before going to their boarding gate."
Tui flights depart from Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport.
Jet2 and Ryanair were contacted for comment but had not responded by the time of publication.
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