Martin Lewis gives key airport parking advice on his money show

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Lines reportedly snaked out of Terminal 3 from 4am on Wednesday, May 25, with some travellers saying it took more than two hours to get through security. A disgruntled passenger said: “Check-in then sent to car park to pass through security? Ridiculous.”

Tom Morris told the Manchester Evening News he arrived at Terminal 3 at about 4.30am for a 7.45am flight.

He said: “The queue was roughly two-ish hours in the standard lane. The standard security lane seemed to build up quite heavily behind us.”

Twitter user @nat_halie96, who was yet to travel on Wednesday, joked: “I’m flying out of Manchester Airport tomorrow evening. I reckon I should go now and camp there given the queues today.”

@David_Orr_Scot added: “Our plane landed over one and a half hours ago and we’re still waiting for our baggage.”

They later added: “Ended up waiting over 2 hours for bags. No explanation, no apology. “

It comes after Manchester joined Gatwick Airport on Tuesday by issuing apologies as staff shortages continue to cause long delays for travellers.

A spokesman for Gatwick Airport apologised to a Twitter user who described their experience as “horrible” and “grim”.

The spokesman tweeted: “Hi, we’re really sorry for any delay. We are operating a moving queue system and staff are working hard to process passengers as quickly as possible through Security Search.”

One Twitter user complained of a four-hour queue at the baggage reclaim carousels at Manchester Airport on Tuesday morning.

A Manchester Airport spokesman said on Wednesday: “We apologise to any passengers whose experience at Manchester Airport this morning was not how they would like it to be.

“During our ongoing recovery from the pandemic, we continue to advise customers there may be some times when security queues are longer than usual, which is why we advise people to arrive three hours before their flights.

“On Wednesday morning, while the vast majority of people passed through security in under 30 minutes, waiting times peaked at more than 60 minutes in one of our terminals for a brief period of time, and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

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The spokesman added that at least three to six security lanes were running at all times.

Meanwhile, Heathrow Airport called on the Government to “bring pace to the policies” after publication of a long-awaited strategy to support the recovery of aviation from the Covid pandemic.

The Department for Transport has released a 10-point plan named Flightpath to the Future which centres on growth, sustainability and protecting passengers.

It commits to “position the UK as a global aviation leader” and put the sector “on course to achieve Jet Zero”, which refers to the project to reach net zero for carbon emissions by 2050.

A new aviation council will be created to deliver the aims made up of representatives from airlines, airports and other parts of the sector.

It will also include ministers and officials from the UK Government and devolved administrations.

A Heathrow spokeswoman said it’s vital the UK’s aviation sector is rebuilt on a sustainable trajectory.

She added: “The necessary changes that will decarbonise and futureproof the benefits of flying can only be achieved when we all work together.

“We look forward to this opportunity through the new aviation council.

“Flightpath to the Future is the first step. Now we need Government to bring pace to the policies that will allow the sector to fulfil the ambitions they are setting out today.

“Failure to do this, will only see this plan grounded.”

A recent report by trade body the Airports Operators Association (AOA) stated that UK airports have lost £10 billion in revenue since the first lockdown in March 2020 and have taken on more than £4bn in debt.

Demand for UK flights has risen this year, coinciding with the scrapping of all travel restrictions.

AOA chief executive Karen Dee said: “It is vital the Government not only provide policy certainty to achieve a UK-wide recovery but also back their ambitions with funding.

“UK airports come out of the pandemic in a worse financial position than many of their international competitors, who received significantly more generous funds from their governments to weather the pandemic.”

Aviation minister Robert Courts said: “The pandemic posed an existential threat to the aviation sector. Now recovery has started, we have a chance to build back better than ever before.

“Through this new strategy, I’m setting out 10 priorities to ensure we build an industry that’s not only fit for the future, but one that’s world-leading.”

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