BELFAST International Airport has issued an apology after travellers planning to depart faced queues "right out the front doors".
Passengers arrived yesterday to be faced with long waits which the Co Antrim airport has said resulted from security checks.
Many in the queues took to social media to vent their frustration and warn others planning on travelling during the day to be aware of the situation.
The long waits at the north's main air hub follow a series of delays for travellers using Dublin International Airport.
Earlier this month, following weeks of delays for passengers passing through security, Dublin saw huge queues develop at check-in desks, with many waiting several hours to get luggage tagged.
That prompted DAA, the company which runs Dublin International, to urge passengers to arrive a minimum of two hours before short-haul flights and three hours before long-haul flights.
Posting to Twitter yesterday about the scenes at Belfast, one passenger, Robert Grundy, who posted an image of the queue he faced, wrote: "If you have a flight from Belfast international this morning I’d leave a little earlier than you had planned…."
Another traveller tweeted: "Good luck to anyone flying out of Belfast International Airport this morning, the line for security is right out the front doors."
The queues had eased by the afternoon, and a spokesperson for the airport apologised and also urged passengers to follow guidance on minimising delays at security checks.
"We would like to apologise to those passengers who had to wait longer than expected to pass through security early this morning," the spokesperson said.
"The security lines are now flowing well and we thank passengers for their patience and understanding."
