What it’s like going through Birmingham Airport at the Moment
There’s been a lot made of in the news surrounding delays and errors at airports across the UK which is understandably making some people feel anxious about flying. Here at CT4N Travel our we’re going on an staff educational trip to visit our most popular destination, Greece. So we thought we may be able to shed some light on what it’s like to go through airports at the moment. We flew from Birmingham on the new Jet2 route to Athens that has been very popular with our customers. We hope that by sharing our experience we may be able to allow you feel more comfortable about your upcoming holiday or if you haven’t booked one yet, to feel more comfortable about booking.
With our flight departing at 6:30am we chose to stay the night before in a hotel near to the airport. We were driven by one of our lovely drivers in our minibuses, in which we offer airport transfers to large groups struggling with the cost of multiple taxis and the like. We awoke around 3am, sorted ourselves out and arrived at check in at 3:30.
We chose to arrive earlier than perhaps needed as we too wanted to make sure we were not delayed and if there were delays we had plenty of time to make our flight. In the end this wasn’t necessary but we would still recommend arriving in plenty of time to be sure. We had checked in online the day before, which we would definitely recommend because checking in at the airport usually results in fees. From there instead of going to a check in desk we used one of the self use machines to get our luggage labels for our checked bags. By scanning our boarding pass the machine produced the luggage label which we then attached and took to a desk designated for those using the self use machine.
Having dropped our bags we proceeded to security. We chose to purchase fast track passes which meant that we had a much shorter queue for security. These aren’t essential but at a cost of £4pp they saved queuing time which would’ve been useful if we were in more of a hurry. Security was straightforward and quick as we had made sure all our liquids were under 100ml and in a clear plastic bag. Ensure they are an easily accessible place for making this process as speedy as possible.
Bag drop and security was completed in about 25-30 mins. This gave us ample time to explore the facilities available at Birmingham. When our gate popped up about 45 mins before departure, we made our way to the gate. There was a slight wait at the gate and we were informed we would departing 15 minutes later than originally scheduled but this wasn’t a problem. Boarding was completed promptly, the only delay was due to a system error which meant the ground crew had to come round and recheck our boarding passes when we were in our seats. This didn’t delay the flight any further and the flight took off at its new departure time of 6:45am only 15 minutes after originally scheduled.
The flight was nice and smooth and bag collection was straightforward and all luggage present and in the same condition it left.
Overall we found our airport experience to be smooth and encountered very few problems throughout, other than perhaps leaving slightly later. We hope this has given you some insight the current airport situation and although not everyone’s experience will be the same there should be nothing to worry about. As long as you leave plenty of time to go through the process, the same as you would have before then you should absolutely fine. We’ll be keeping you up to date throughout our trip to give you insights into travelling to and around Greece and it’s wonders. Follow us on social media to make sure you don’t miss any of it, CT4N Travel or our specialist Greek page The Greek Specialist on Facebook or @ct4ntravel or @greeceiswaiting on Instagram. To book your own adventure contact the team on 01157843388 or email enquiries@ct4ntravel.do.uk .For inspiration and ideas on where to go check out either of our websites www.ct4ntravel.co.uk or www.the Greek specialist.co.uk