The problems first surfaced in mid-March when passengers were left waiting for hours, with some forced to queue in the car park while others missed flights
MAG has apologised and said the industry was “facing staff shortages and recruitment challenges”. On Tuesday, its managing director Karen Smart stepped down.
Earlier, baggage handling firm Swissport apologised to passengers who have faced delays when collecting luggage.
Charlie Cornish, MAG chief executive, has urged travellers to arrive three hours before their flight to avoid missing it.
“The simple fact is that we don’t currently have the number of staff we need to provide the level of service that our passengers deserve,” he said.
Despite our efforts since last autumn, the tight labour market around the airport has meant we have just not been able to hire people quickly enough.
“While we still expect most passengers to get through in less than 30-40 minutes, there will be times over the next few months when waiting times will rise to between 60 and 90 minutes.”
However, the airport does expect about 250 new security staff to begin work by early next month.
Mr Cornish added that he “cannot apologise enough for the disruption people have faced”.
Pressure on airlines and airports has increased due to the surge in demand for travel during the Easter school holidays.
It comes as drivers are being warned to expect long delays as millions of people plan to head off for Easter trips next weekend.
The Port of Dover said in a statement it handled 30,000 departing passengers last weekend, which was a three-fold increase on the total during the corresponding weekend in 2021.
