Bristol Airport passengers face 'unacceptable' security queues

Passengers have reported continued disruption after "unacceptable" queues through security at Bristol Airport.

A family from Bristol travelling to Cyprus with their daughter Madison, eight, had been stuck on the tarmac for three hours, their grandfather said.

A woman said she feared for her safety amid "chaotic" scenes in the terminal.

The airport apologised earlier and said it had fewer security staff working than planned. It said queues returned to normal later in the morning.

It was in "urgent discussions" with its security business partner, it added.

Madison was due to fly with her parents Daniel and Angela from Bristol to Larnaca in Cyprus at 13:15 BST but their flight was delayed.

They were told the plane did not have enough fuel to make it it one go, according to her grandfather Alan.

He said the family, from St George in Bristol, were due to attend a friend's wedding on Monday but were not going anywhere fast.

He told BBC West: "It still hasn't taken off and now they're being told that it doesn't have enough fuel to get there in one go.

"It is the first flight she'll remember and [this sort of thing] is not very good to keep the blood pressure down."

Some flights have been cancelled but most scheduled flights were able to leave, the BBC understands.

Kieron Sheridan said his family holiday plans to Valencia had been devastated by the "absolute carnage" at Bristol Airport earlier, due to the "poor security organisation and lack of personnel".

He tweeted: "Queued for nearly 2 hours and only got halfway through the queue when advised our flight had gone without us.

"The queue started outside of the building, we joined it at 4.45am.

"We were still at least 45 mins away from getting through security when we had to give up."

He said he had been a frequent flyer for the past 30 years and added: "I have never seen anything like it."

"Despite doing everything in our power to get off on a family holiday, we feel absolutely robbed of that opportunity, and £1,600 out of pocket."

Max Walsh, a reporter for ITV News West Country, said he witnessed barriers being pushed over as he waited for his 07:00 flight to Belfast.

"Saw one person having a panic attack in the queue. Security cannot cope," he tweeted.

Responding to the airport's apology, passenger Michelle Ekin said: "We can deal with queues but you need to prepare for busy days better and train your staff.

"Most of them just stood there looking bewildered letting people cut the queue, knocking over barriers and causing more chaos.

"It was getting really hostile and felt dangerous at one point."

Ms Ekin said easyJet waited for passengers during the disruption and her flight departed an hour late.

A spokesperson for the airport said: "Security queues early this morning were unacceptable and we apologise to all customers who were impacted.

"Far fewer security staff were working than planned. We're in urgent discussions with our security business partner so passengers receive the service 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."

Additional reporting by Ollie Pritchard-Jones

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