Manchester Airport has been criticised after it missed waiting times targets in June at the start of the big summer getaway.
The target set by the airport and airlines is for no more than 8% of passengers using the facility to clear security in over 15 minutes.
This had been eased from last year when the airport was set a target of 95% of passengers getting through the airport in less than eight minutes.
In June the airport recorded 11% of passengers taking long than the target thanks to a particularly poor performance at Terminal One which saw 18.5% exceed 15 minutes.
Terminal’s Two and Three performed considerably better with just 6% and 2.2% respectively waiting longer than 15 minutes.
The performance was described as “an appalling commentary on Manchester Airport representing Manchester and the north west” by Which magazine’s Neville Duncan.
“This is about passengers being messed about by Manchester Airport. Is this the impression we want to give? There are horrendous problems in Terminal One.
“They say they are going to take on more staff. But they are always crowing about rising passenger numbers so shouldn’t they have been prepared for this well in advance?
“As we enter peak holiday season passengers shouldn’t be having to race to catch their planes.”
The Manchester Evening News reported airport bosses blamed lack of resources for the below par performance.
A spokesman told the newspaper: “We take the security process incredibly seriously as passenger safety is of paramount importance.
“The majority of our passengers go through in less than 15 minutes, but we understand queues can build up for a variety of reasons, especially during the peak summer months.
“Terminal One has been particularly busy recently, which is why the security scores are low.
“Terminals Two and Three have actually been performing well with both scoring 94% and 98% respectively.
“Nobody likes queues but security has to be thorough and we urge passengers to work with us by being fully prepared with any hand baggage they may be carrying.
“As the summer progresses we will continue to invest to ensure queues are kept to a minimum.”
This week Manchester Airport has introduced a £4 security fast-track charge for customers who are prepared to pay to skip the queues.
Consumer groups have government targets for non-paying passengers saying that waiting times for them should be cut.
Manchester said the charge would help the airport pay for additional resources to tackle queue times across the airport.
The airport said: “The product gives customers a form of choice, rather than going through the normal process should they wish.
“In today’s society, people would rather pay money to get some time back, and as an airport which is in the top 20 in Europe, we want to extend that service to our customers in the same way other airports have.”