This Scottish airport is one of the worst in the UK for security delays, says Which? Travel

Based on thousands of customer experiences, Which? Travel has revealed the best and worst airports for security queue times.

The survey concluded that Edinburgh Airport was one of the worst for security queue times, along with the likes of Stansted and Heathrow.

Long airport security queuing times

The report from Which? Travel showed that Edinburgh Airport held an average wait time of 10 minutes and 30 seconds for travellers trying to make their way through security.

Have you had to endure long wait times at airport security? (Photo: Shutterstock)

Ahead of Edinburgh was:

- Manchester Terminal One: average wait time of 17 minutes

- Manchester Terminal Two and Three: average wait time of 15 minutes and 30 seconds

- Stansted: average wait time of 13 minutes and 42 seconds

- Luton: average wait time of 11 minutes and 42 seconds

- Birmingham: average wait time of 10 minutes and 36 seconds

Below Edinburgh was:

- Heathrow Terminal Three: average wait time of 10 minutes 18 seconds

- Heathrow Terminal Two: average wait time of nine minutes and 36 seconds

- Heathrow Terminal Four: average wait time of nine minutes and 24 seconds

What does Edinburgh Airport say?

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Airport said, “It would be interesting to find out the methodology used for this survey as it doesn’t match our own live statistics which show that more than 95 per cent of our passengers are through security in under 10 minutes. We also process more passengers per lane per hour than any other airport in the UK which shows how efficient our procedure is.

“We make no apologies for prioritising the safety of our passengers and staff but we are looking at ways of making that part of the journey quicker. Passengers also have a part to play by following the signs and guidance and ensuring they remove things like liquid, phones, iPads and laptops from their bags and putting them into trays for scanning.”

For travellers taking off from Edinburgh Airport, the website displays a live feed of estimated security queue times.

Airports with faster service

According to the results from Which? Travel, flying from smaller airports saw travellers get through the gates in a much faster time scale.

The likes of Southampton and London Southend has their queues through the doors in just over five minutes, half the time it takes for flyers from Edinburgh Airport.

These smaller airports all managed to get their travellers through security in a faster time than Edinburgh Airport:

- Leeds Bradford: 10 minutes and six seconds

- Liverpool (John Lennon): 10 minutes and one second

- Bristol: eight minutes and five seconds

- Newcastle: eight minutes and one second

- Bournemouth: seven minutes and seven seconds

- London City: seven minutes and five seconds

- Cardiff: seven minutes and one second

- Exeter: six minutes and nine seconds

- London Southend: five minutes and two seconds

- Southampton: five minutes and two seconds

How to get through security as quickly as possible

The key to getting through security at an airport is being prepared and adhering to the regulations.

That means:

- Be sure your luggage is in line with all luggage restrictions

- Ensure that all liquids under 100ml are placed in a separate, sealed plastic bag prior to getting to the airport

- Have your boarding pass ready, whether that be your e-boarding pass on your phone or a paper boarding pass

- Be prepared to place all these things in a tray to be passed through security: all items removed from your pockets, your belt, jacket, footwear, correctly packed liquids and large electrical items like laptops, tablets, e-readers and personal appliances