What is causing Ronaldsway queues?

Questions over security checks

Passengers leaving the Island by plane are complaining of headaches before they've made it to the departure lounge, due to lengthy queues after check-in.

Photographs shared on social media show lines stretching around the upper concourse and down the stairs - and flyers claim they've been forced to wait more than an hour to get through security.

But why the delay?

Bosses at the airport say it's down to a range of circumstances.

First of all, capacity: although the number of individuals passing through the terminal has not increased significantly in recent years, more people are boarding fewer planes, creating a logjam.

That's a lot to do with budget carrier easyJet, which began flying to and from the Isle of Man in 2010.

The airline's 160-seat Airbus A319 planes are around twice the size of Flybe or British Airways' Manx-bound aircraft, meaning a greater concentration of easyJet passengers turn up to the airport at the same times for its scheduled flights to London Gatwick, Luton and Liverpool.

Queues at security tend to reach their longest in the hour approaching 9.55am each morning, and then once again up to 5.35pm later on.

Then there's the security infrastructure itself, which was not developed with such passenger loads in mind.

Security has never been tighter at European airports, and passengers are now expected to remove items of clothing, isolate liquids into clear plastic bags, and put aside items such as laptops and tablets before they reach the scanners.

Despite this, Ronaldsway claims the security check process still takes only a matter of minutes outside of peak times.

There are two 'lanes' at the security checkpoint, but only one is in use (aside from during TT fortnight, when both are operational).

It's claimed staffing the alternative lane - which is used purely as a backup - would not be cost-effective.

So what's being done to fight the queues?

Air routes are competitive, and re-organising the schedule of flights departing from and arriving at Ronaldsway is not a likely solution.

Opening another security lane might speed things up, but it would require enough demand outside of peak hours to justify the staffing cost.

In the meantime, bosses are reminding passengers to simply leave enough time for check-in security - and that airlines like easyJet request their customers are at the departure gate, ready to board, at least 40 minutes before take off.

And when one does reach the security queue, it's always useful to have your bags and items ready for inspection before you reach the head of the queue.