UK airports with the longest security waiting times revealed

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We all love jetting off on holiday.

Taking a break from work, exploring a new place, indulging ourselves in all the food and drink that we want.

But one thing that fills us all with a sense of dread are looming queues that await us when we arrive at the airport.

Whether we’re flying out to our chosen destination or making our way back home, we’re always met with queue after queue after queue.

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And one of the worst offenders when it comes to airport queues? The line at security.

With fellow passengers (and, let’s face it, ourselves too) removing liquids, tablets and laptops, stripping off belts, jackets and shoes and of course being caught out by the metal detectors and having to undergo an extra search, the queue steadily starts to build up.

And now a survey has revealed the worst offenders across the UK.

According to a survey by Which?, the UK airport that keeps holidaymakers waiting around at security for the longest time is Manchester airport.

The research suggests bad news for anyone travelling from the northern airport, with queuing times estimated at 17 minutes per passenger on average.

One traveller in the survey even claimed that they had waited for a massive 90 minutes.

But Manchester wasn’t the only airport to keep passengers waiting around for a long while, with 26 UK airports making the list.

Wondering where your local airport ranks? These are the average waiting times reported in the survey:

Large airport waiting times

1. Manchester T1: 17 minutes per passenger
2. Manchester T2: 15.5 minutes per passenger
3. Manchester T3: 15.5 minutes per passenger
4. Stansted: 13.7 minutes per passenger
5. Luton: 11.7 minutes per passenger
6. Birmingham: 10.6 minutes per passenger
7. Edinburgh: 10.5 minutes per passenger
8. Heathrow T3: 10.3 minutes per passenger
9. Heathrow T2: 9.6 minutes per passenger
10. Heathrow T4: 9.4 minutes per passenger
11. Gatwick North: 8.7 minutes per passenger
12. Gatwick South: 8.6 minutes per passenger
13. Heathrow T5: 8.6 minutes per passenger

Small airport waiting times

1. Belfast International: 22.3 minutes per passenger
2. East Midlands: 12.7 minutes per passenger
3. Glasgow International: 12.2 minutes per passenger
4. Leeds Bradford: 10.6 minutes per passenger
5. Liverpool (John Lennon): 10.1 minutes per passenger
6. Bristol: 8.5 minutes per passenger
7. Newcastle: 8.1 minutes per passenger
8. Bournemouth: 7.7 minutes per passenger
9. London City: 7.5 minutes per passenger
10. Cardiff: 7.1 minutes per passenger
11. Exeter: 6.9 minutes per passenger
12. Southend: 5.2 minutes per passenger
13. Southampton: 5.2 minutes per passenger