Passengers say major delays at Birmingham Airport on Monday left them out of pocket after paying for new flights to reach their destinations.
Many people were stuck in queues on Monday and missed their flights due to a technical problem at security checks.
Lily-Rose Watkins, a student from Selly Oak, Birmingham, said she spent around £100 to travel by train to Bristol Airport and then board a new flight to Spain after missing her original departure .
Birmingham Airport has apologized and said passengers should get in touch to discuss any concerns.
Ms Watkins said she arrived at Birmingham Airport at 6am BST on Monday to travel to Alicante for a three-day holiday with friends. But they had to wait three hours to get through security until their gate was already closed.
“We had no chance of getting that flight,” Ms Watkins told BBC Radio WM.
The group traveled to Bristol later in the day and reached Alicante in the evening, losing a day of their short break.
Roger Burton, who also missed his flight from Birmingham to Alicante on Monday, said he had spent around £165 on a new flight from Birmingham on Wednesday and also had to cover taxi costs to the site again.
“It was absolutely disgusting the way we were treated,” Burton, 79, said of the delays.
He told BBC Radio WM that passengers were herded through the airport “like cattle”, there was a “crowd” waiting for the elevators and staff appeared to have little or no information about what was happening.
Compensation rights
According to the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), passengers cannot claim compensation from airlines if they miss a flight for reasons beyond the airline’s control, such as extreme weather conditions or airport delays.
An ABTA spokesperson added that people could potentially receive a payout on their travel insurance if they can prove they arrived at the airport on time.
A BBC Midlands Facebook post about the delays attracted more than 550 comments. One user said he had to pay more than €320 (£273) in additional flight and taxi fees to reach his home in Spain.
Birmingham Airport said on Monday that the technical issue had exacerbated peak departure times.
Asked whether Birmingham Airport would provide compensation to affected passengers, a spokesperson for the site told the BBC: “There can be a number of reasons why customers miss flights that are not necessarily attributable to the airport.”
“Customers can contact us via our website with any concerns or questions and our agents will investigate with our partner airlines.”
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