A passenger who missed her flight following delays at Belfast International Airport this morning over staff shortages said that she had to spend £300 on new flights and connecting travel.
Kate McIvor from Glack in Co. Derry was among those impacted by long security queues as staff shortages meant only two of the six lanes were open.
The 22-year-old was due to fly from the airport with her boyfriend for a concert in Bristol this evening but missed her flight as she waited over an hour in the security queue.
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The pair had to fork out an extra £229 for another flight this afternoon to Birmingham as well as a further £80 on train tickets down to Bristol.
@belfastairport what a shambles!! 2 lanes open and when questioned apparently no staff pic.twitter.com/gsGD8beaX3
— Petey pete (@peterbland8) November 9, 2024
She told The Irish News that it had been a “really big” inconvenience for her.
“I actually did cry at one point,” she said.
“When things don’t go to plan, it just doesn’t sit well with me.”
Kate said that she arrived at the airport around an hour and a half before her flight’s scheduled take-off but when had been unaware of the situation at security.
“Whenever we got upstairs it was just mental,” she said.
“It was really chaotic – they only had two security lanes open.
“They go on about this new security and how much better it’s going to be but there were only two lanes open,” she said.
The airport recently announced that it had fully transitioned to a ‘next generation’ security system.
However, only some lanes were open this morning after “short term illness” caused staff shortages.
“There was a stage that one of the workers came round and made an announcement that passengers weren’t allowed to take photos or videos,” she said.
While most airports prohibit taking photographs in security, Kate said some individuals expressed their anger at staff after getting frustrated at the situation.
A number of passengers took to social media to share their frustration and stress caused by the situation at security.
One user posted on Facebook that there were “lots of very angry people who were there for well over an hour and were nowhere near the front.”
They added that there were also “lots of children going to football games panicking that they weren’t going to get”.
A spokesperson for Belfast International Airport told The Irish News that the issues have since been resolved.
“This morning our security facility suffered a significant staff shortage due to short term illness that resulted in delays for passengers that were totally unacceptable, and we apologise unreservedly for this,” they said.
“We are working closely with our security provider to resolve the issue and enact our contingency plans to ensure our passengers are not inconvenienced any further.
“Security wait times are currently back to normal, and passengers are moving well through the facility.
“Any passengers impacted by the issues this morning are asked to contact the airport directly on feedback@bfs.aero. We thank all our passengers for their patience and understanding”.