Passengers at Bristol Airport have shared their frustrations after facing long queues and delays ahead of their trips.
Videos and pictures showed long lines of people waiting to get through security on May 11 and queues of travellers on the pavement outside. Bristol is among several other international airports in England struggling with increased demand as the whole of the aviation sector faces similar staff pressures.
The North Somerset airport has explained how an average queue time of 30 minutes is expected for security during peak times. Customers have been encouraged to arrive at the airport at least two hours before their departure time.
Also see: 'Queue out the door' as delays hit passengers again
But how have the reports of the delays been reflected in the airport's online reviews? Many people have detailed their experiences of Bristol Airport in recent weeks as many people head abroad for the first time since before the pandemic.
Google reviewer under the username T Lee explained how they "queued for two hours to get through bag drop and security" to be "herded like cattle". Ian Davidson said his visit to the airport at 4am was a "disorganised mess".
Tracey Hurley called their experience "chaotic". "What is the point in having self-service check-in when not one self bag check-in was working. Only two members of staff checking bags in", they added in their review. Ruth Parfaitt agreed more staff was needed but said their experience was "otherwise good".
Antony Panter recalled his experience on May 3: "This morning was chaotic at the EasyJet baggage drop off with a long wait and then almost an hour delay going through security, where one lady collapsed. In summary disorganisation and a lack of staff. delayed take off of 1.5hrs."
Bristol Airport has apologised for the disruption to people's travel A spokesperson for the airport has explained how it is constantly reviewing its resources to adapt plans where needed to meet demand.
But not all passengers have been hit by queues trailing out of the door and long waits for baggage, with delays impacting at certain times of the day while the airport is open. Reviewer Ian Reynolds said the airport was "very well organised" while Sheila Smith remarked how impressed she was with its efficiency after "everything went really well" in her experience.
Rating it five stars, Andrew Vaughan recalled a "lovely breakfast in Aspire lounge and the staff there were great". Gábor Wátz agreed that the staff were amazing and doing a great job.
Apologising for the ongoing disruption, a spokesperson for Bristol Airport said: "We work closely with all business partners to ensure staffing levels are sufficient to provide a good service to passengers with an average queue time of 30 minutes for security during peak times. However, on some occasions, staff shortages can impact on waiting times and service standards. We constantly review resourcing across all areas and adapt plans to meet demand and build in resilience where possible.
“We have seen a strong increase in passenger numbers since the end of all COVID-19 travel restrictions. There is a huge pent-up demand for travel which has built up over the past two years during the pandemic and we are expecting a busy summer.
“Whilst recruiting and training new colleagues for the airport can take time, the Bristol Airport team and business partners will be working hard to ensure all customers have a smooth and easy journey through our terminal. We advise all customers to arrive in the terminal a minimum of two hours before scheduled flight departure time to allow sufficient time to complete all the necessary check-in, bag-drop, security, and boarding processes ahead of their flight.”
