Row breaks out over 100ml U-turn as passengers told to arrive an hour early for flights

Airport passengers have been told to allow an extra hour to clear security queues amid a row over the Government’s U-turn on 100ml limits for liquids in hand luggage.

EasyJet is advising its passengers to turn up three hours early for flights from Birmingham Airport after growing security queues left passengers lining up outside the building. Travellers should arrive an hour earlier than if they were flying from another British airport, the airline said.

The advice comes as the Airport Operators’ Association (AOA) hit out at the Government for its surprise U-turn, in a highly unusual move for the travel industry, which normally shies away from being seen to criticise officials.

Rules were expected to change at the start of June, letting passengers carry bottles of up to two litres, but last Friday the Government announced that the 100ml limit would remain in force, saying that new security scanners were not ready.

Karen Dee, chief executive of the AOA, said the change had been made with “very little notice” and “created uncertainty” for travellers “just as airports enter their busiest periods of the year”.

“It has also put airport operators in a challenging position, with very limited time to prepare for the additional staffing and wider resources that this will require, and no clear idea of when this issue will be resolved,” she added.

“All airports are investing hundreds of millions of pounds to deliver this huge programme of technology and programme upgrades mandated by Government with equipment and processes to meet their requirements.

“We ask that all passengers please bear with us and ensure that liquids are carried in containers no larger than 100ml, until advised otherwise.”

Ms Dee’s comments come after EasyJet’s issuing the advice that passengers at Birmingham Airport need to turn up three hours before departure

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, responding to an irate passenger asking why check-in had been disrupted on Sunday, EasyJet said: “We recommend arriving at the airport 3 hours or at least 2 hours before your flight to account for potential delays and facilitate check-in.”

A spokesman insisted that the airline’s advice to passengers was not linked to the Government’s U-turn on the 100ml limit.

Birmingham Airport became the first to break ranks and blame the Government for causing problems for passengers. Bosses at the Midlands airport had expected Department for Transport (DfT) officials to lift the liquid limit from June 1, and had “designed and resourced” a new £60 million security screening hall around scanners capable of handling larger bottles.

The airport had been waiting for the go-ahead from the DfT to use the new scanners with containers bigger than 100ml.

Its new scanners are made by Smiths Detection, and have modern 3D X-ray technology that officials had previously approved for use at other airports – including London Southend – with the higher liquid limit.

Another company, Leidos, made similar so-called “next generation security checkpoint” (NGSC) scanners that were in use at London City and Leeds Bradford airports.

Both of those airports were operating a higher-liquid limit for hand luggage before Friday’s Government announcement.

A Smiths Detection spokesman said: “This is an industry-wide measure and impacts all suppliers of [NGSC] equipment. As a leader in the industry our work naturally relies on very tight cooperation with every regulator to respond quickly and responsibly to regulations as they change.

“We continuously work at pace to update our technology solutions and adapt to evolving national and international regulatory standards. Our mission is to make the world a safer place.”

A Birmingham Airport spokesperson told The Telegraph: “Our new security area was designed, and resourced, to accommodate the increase to two litres being carried in cabin baggage, this currently cannot be operated with the temporary restriction.”

The Government insisted that nothing has changed for passengers, and that the U-turn on the 100ml rule is only “temporary”.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The temporary reintroduction of the 100ml liquid restriction at some airports is to allow time to further improve systems.

“It only affects those travelling from six regional airports where [NGSC] were already in full operation – around six per cent of all UK air passengers.

“For most passengers, security measures will remain unchanged from those in place since 2006. Passengers should continue to check security requirements with their departure airport before travelling.”

Separately, research published on Thursday showed that Britons are now embracing “slow travel” with one in four being put off flying by ever-increasing airport delays.

A study by travel website HolidayPirates found that an additional third of British adults have avoided flying at least once in the past year, which it said was signalling a shift towards “alternative ways of travelling”.