Airport Airport

BHX Birmingham Airport Security Wait Times

IATA Code:

BHX

Timezone:

UTC/GMT +1:00 hours

Airport local time:

Thursday, 4:10pm

Busy

Wait times are falling (16.6% over last 3 hours)
Updated today, Thursday 23 July 2026
3:31 PM (UTC/GMT +1:00 hours)
Add Your Time
  • Data

    Qsensor combines airport data with crowdsourced information. How was your airport experience? Contribute to the community by submitting your wait time.

  • Disclaimer

    Waiting times may not accurately reflect your experience. It is advisable to arrive at the airport well in advance and follow the recommendations of the airlines and airports.

  • Airport Last Updated

    3:31 PM (UTC/GMT +1:00 hours)

Live Terminal Data

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  • airplane
    All Terminals
    16 mins wait time
  • user submitted
    User Submitted
    15-30 mins wait time

What Will the Wait Time Be?

Pick a day and time to see the typical wait, based on historical data.

— min typical wait

Unlock Wait Time Predictions

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Wait Times by Day of Week

Average wait times based on the last 3 weeks of data.

11m
Mon
12m
Tue
13m
Wed
12m
Thu
15m
Fri
16m
Sat
15m
Sun

The average wait time at 4 pm at this airport is 10 minutes

Based on data from the past 3 weeks.
Current: 16 min (Longer wait than usual: avg wait time is 10 min)

Wait Times by Hour of Day

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Flying from BHX? Know exactly when to leave.

Combine live security waits with your travel time for a tailored departure time.

Calculate When to Leave

Cutoff Time for Airport Arrival

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Latest Airport Arrival Time
Domestic 1h 25m before departure
International 1h 53m before departure
How we calculated this

Bag drop closes 45-60 min before departure. With an estimated 25 min bag drop queue, you need to arrive at the desk 70-85 min early. After that, allow 11 min for security (avg on Thursdays) and 12 min to walk to your gate, which closes 15-20 min before departure. Finally, add a 15 min buffer.

Best & Worst Time To Fly

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Best & Worst Times to Fly

Based on historical security wait times and flight delays across all days of the week.

Best Time
Morning
8am - 12pm
15 min avg wait
11 min avg flight delay
Worst Time
Afternoon
12pm - 5pm
15 min avg wait
25 min avg flight delay

How Busy
Is the Airport?

Based on live and historical flight patterns. Tap a bar to see details.

As busy as usual (10 flights vs 11 avg)
12 am
1 am
2 am
3 am
4 am
5 am
6 am
7 am
8 am
9 am
10 am
11 am
12 pm
1 pm
2 pm
3 pm
4 pm
5 pm
6 pm
7 pm
8 pm
9 pm
10 pm
11 pm
Not busy
A bit busy
Busy
Very busy

Flight Delays

Average departure delays by hour, based on the last 2 weeks of flight data.

Current: 7 min (Lower than usual: avg wait time is 16 min)
Updated today, Thursday 23 July 2026
-- --

Flight Status

On Time (0-15 min)
Delayed (16-45 min)
Severely Delayed (>45 min)
LIVE

Select a day to view flight status

Birmingham Airport Overview (BHX)

Birmingham Airport is the UK’s seventh-busiest airport, acting as the primary international gateway for the Midlands. Located approximately 7 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre and 1 mile from the NEC, it operates from a single terminal building, minimising the need for complex transfers between terminals.

Birmingham Airport FAQ

Birmingham Airport is currently Busy based on real-time flight departure data.

Yes, the current Security queue at Birmingham Airport is approximately 16 minutes. The airport is currently busy. Check the live data on this page for the latest queue times.

It currently takes approximately 16 minutes to get through Security at Birmingham Airport. Wait times vary by time of day and day of week — check the hourly chart on this page for the full breakdown.

Security wait times at Birmingham Airport vary throughout the day. Check the historical wait time chart on this page to find the quietest times.

Flights from Birmingham Airport are experiencing fewer delays than usual today, averaging 7 minutes compared to the typical 16 minutes for this time on Thursdays.

Yes, for outbound travel. Birmingham Airport has installed Next Generation Security Checkpoints, which allow you to carry liquids, pastes and gels in containers of up to 2 litres in your hand luggage. You do not need to put them in a plastic bag.

Important Warning: Check the rules for your return airport. Many airports outside the UK (and some within it) still enforce the 100ml limit. If you take a large liquid bottle with you, it may be confiscated on your return flight.

Generally, no. The new 3D scanners allow large electrical items to remain inside your bag during screening. However, if your bag is very cluttered, security staff may still ask you to remove them for a separate check.

Yes. You can book the “Express Lane” to speed up your journey through security. Prices are typically £6.00 when booked online in advance, or £8.50 if purchased at the airport on the day.

If you have an Express Lane ticket should head to the security entrance at Zone B.

Yes, but it is not directly outside the terminal doors. The Drop Off Car Park offers 10 minutes of free parking. It is located approximately 400 metres from the terminal, which is a 5–10 minute walk via a covered walkway.

Note: If you stay longer than 10 minutes, charges apply (e.g., £5.00 for 15 minutes).

Yes, by using the Premium Set Down car park. This is located immediately outside the terminal but costs £6.00 for the first 15 minutes.

Warning: Do not stop on the approach roads (Red Routes). These are monitored by cameras, and stopping for even a moment will result in a £100 fine.

Yes, the service is called “BHX Free Wi-Fi.” It is free to use, though it may require you to re-login after a set period (typically 30-minute slots).

Yes. There is a multi-faith prayer room on the ground floor (landside) which includes washing facilities. There is a second prayer room airside on the International Pier, but this facility does not have washing facilities.

Rail: The airport is directly connected to Birmingham International Station. A free “Air-Rail Link” monorail system transports passengers between the train station and the terminal in under 2 minutes. This service operates daily from 03:30 to 00:30.

Road: The airport is accessible via the M42 (Junction 6) and the A45.

Bus: The network includes the X1 (Coventry/Birmingham) and X12 (Solihull), with stops located directly on-site.

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Live Airport & Flight Intelligence

Real-time security wait times, flight delay tracking, and airport busyness data — all in one place.

Security Wait Times

Live TSA, CATSA, and security checkpoint wait times by terminal and queue, with historical patterns to help you pick the best time to arrive.

Updates every 5–15 minutes from official feeds and crowdsourced reports
Per-terminal and per-queue breakdowns
Historical charts showing quietest times to fly

Flight Delay Tracking

Live status for individual flights with 14-day rolling delay averages, on-time rates, and side-by-side route comparisons.

Real-time departure and arrival status
Email alerts for delays and cancellations
Similar-flight performance comparisons

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Qsensor FAQ

Live data: For the majority of the airports we track we use live data from the airport. For the remaining airports we provide a modelled projection, combined with crowdsourced data.

Search: By airport name, IATA code, city, county, country or region. To save you time, we keep your last visited airports on the front page. If you can’t find an airport, contact us using the contact form and we will look to add it. 

Current average wait time: The airport’s latest average security, passport control or customs queue wait time. If the airport has multiple queues, we display the average of them. If you want a more granular view that includes wait times for individual queues, take a look at the terminal level wait times. We regularly update each airport’s data,  but make sure you click the “i” icon to check when the last update was made.

Terminal level wait times: The latest security or customs queue wait time for individual terminals. Click on the terminal to access more information at the terminal level. Please note that this data is not available for all airports. We are working to expand this functionality to as many airports as possible.

Historical wait times: The typical wait time on different days and times over the past 2 weeks. Click the filter at the top right of the graph to cycle through the days of the week.

Add a security or customs queue wait time: How was your airport security experience? Contribute to the community by inputting your wait time. This feature is only available for airports where Qsensor does not automatically track data. To add a wait time, simply click the “Add Your Time” button on the airports page and follow the instructions.

add time button

Please note that this data is monitored and may be modified or deleted if found to be invalid.

Click the “i” icon to view and take note of more contextual information on each airport. “Airport Last Updated” denotes the last time the data was refreshed.

Our sources for wait time data vary and may include air travel data aggregators, federal agencies such as the TSA, CATSA CBP, or information from the airport and its affiliated service providers. For some airports, Qsensor utilises its proprietary queue modelling technology to project wait times. Additionally, we crowdsource data from passengers who have input their wait time using the “Add Your Time” button.

Qsensor is not affiliated with any airport, airline, or associated service provider.

We regularly check queue times and flight delays for accuracy, however all times are estimates and waiting times and delays may not accurately reflect your experience. It is advisable to arrive at the airport well in advance and follow the recommendations of the airlines and airports.

There are a wide array of ways that queue data is measured. Including but not limited to looking at how long a passenger takes to get from scanning their boarding pass to exiting the security or customs area. Auditing passengers on how long it took them to pass through security or customs as well as Qsensors’ proprietary system for user added wait times. 

For airport wait times, we currently support over 140 airports worldwide. Whether it be London Heathrow, Istanbul, or Miami – we have got you covered. More are added all the time. Is Qsensor missing an airport that you want to be supported? We are more than happy to accommodate your request, get in touch via the contact form. 

For flight delays and cancellations, we currently support 12 airports, with the goal of expanding coverage going forwards.

Qsensor automatically tracks wait times for a variety of airports including London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Amsterdam Schiphol, Kempegowda Bangalore, Madrid Barajas, Hong Kong, Istanbul, and many more!

For flight delays and cancellations, we track OHare, Gatwick, Heathrow, Barcelona and more.

Qsensor is available in English, German, Italian, Greek, Spanish, French, Polish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese and Arabic.

Send the request via the contact form below:

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Make sure you include the name of the airport and its IATA code in your request!

The flight delay tracker gives you a comprehensive view of flight status delays, both for the current day and historically on a per flight basis. Tap on a weekday to see all flights that have historically taken off on that day and their typical delay over the past two weeks. You can also search for your flight using your flight number and view the airport’s average delay.

Get insights into flight on-time performance and make better travel decisions. Please note, this feature is not available for all airports, but we’re adding more all the time!

To keep wait times relevant, the message “There is currently no data for this airport.” is shown when no traveller has recently inputted a wait time.

add time button

For airports Qsensor automatically tracks, this message may also be shown if we haven’t recently gotten data from the airport. This typically rectifies itself within 12 hours.

If you have a suggestion for an airport you want to be tracked or a feature added, share it via the contact form.

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