WE ALL know the golden rule of flying – arrive at least three hours before an international flight. But sometimes, there’s nothing you can do to beat the queues.
Now, the world’s worst airports for wait times have been revealed, and Brussels has reportedly left passengers standing in line for five hours.
Brussels International Airport has had queues of up to five hours[/caption]
The airport in the capital of Belgium is a hugely busy airport, sometimes seeing 70,000 passengers a day – resulting in particularly long wait times.
The Telegraph has put together a list of the worst airports based on four- or five-star reviews for ‘airport queueing time’ on AirlineQuality.com.
While Brussels actually landed in 14th place, it did get a ‘special mention’ for its incredibly long queues.
There have been reports of lines that have left passengers waiting for five hours just to get through security alone.
One passenger told the Brussels Times: “After a long flight, it’s inhumane to expect us to stand for that long.”
There has also been reports of long queues at passport control which has resulted in the Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) promising to take action, according to Aviation Direct.
The fact that Brussels is a huge airport welcoming lots of international flights could be a factor in its wait times.
A lot of passengers are going through visa checks, which will take longer to complete.
The airport is taking action to try and avoid queues, especially as it’s set to get busy with summer traffic.
On ‘orange days’ when increased passenger volume is expected, capacity will be increased by 30 per cent.
On ‘red days’, when the highest passenger numbers are forecast, an increase of as much as 40 per cent is planned.
Airports with the longest queues include Grenoble, Berlin, Hurghada, Belfast International and Venice Treviso.
Two UK airports also made the list – London Stansted and Luton.
London Luton has average recorded wait times of 42 minutes including security and passport control, while London Stansted is 41 minutes.
The UK airport with the longest wait time was Birmingham, with the average wait time at security being 29 minutes.
Standing at passport control will add an extra 18 minutes at the regional airport.
The World’s Worst Airports For Queues
Percentage of passengers who gave four- or five-star reviews for ‘airport queueing time’ on AirlineQuality.com…
- Grenoble, France: 1.59 per cent
- Montego Bay, Jamaica: 3.23 per cent
- Berlin, Germany: 5.73 per cent
- Punta Cana, Dominican Republic: 6.98 per cent
- Bordeaux, France: 7.01 per cent
- Paris Beauvais, France: 8.77 per cent
- Hurghada, Egypt: 8.82 per cent
- London Stansted, UK: 8.88 per cent
- Newark, US: 9.09 per cent
- London Luton, UK: 9.48 per cent
- Heraklion, Greece: 9.68 per cent
- Honolulu, US: 9.72 per cent
- Belfast International, UK: 10.53 per cent
- Brussels, Belgium: 10.77 per cent
- Geneva, Switzerland: 10.79 per cent
- Kuwait International: 11.11 per cent
- Lyon, France: 11.11 per cent
- Aruba: 11.54 per cent
- Kos, Greece: 11.54 per cent
- Venice Treviso, Italy: 11.54 per cent
