PASSENGERS flying out of Glasgow face shorter queues at security than any other major airport in the UK.

The airport which serves Scotland's biggest city is also flying high after travellers rated the security screening process higher than Glasgow's rivals.

Even Heathrow - the world's third busiest airport - was beaten by Glasgow in a detailed security survey carried out by officials at the Civil Aviation Authority.

Five other airports were scrutinised - London's Gatwick and Stansted as well as Luton, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Transport chiefs discovered passengers flying out of Glasgow routinely faced an average queueing time of 3.3 minutes. But passengers in Edinburgh had to wait twice as long while travellers at Stansted were kept waiting nine minutes.

Just three out of 100 passengers at Glasgow complained they were made to hang around for more than 10 minutes - unlike three times as many at Edinburgh and fifth of all travellers at Stansted.

The CAA quizzed 27,000 passengers at the seven airports last year about their experiences of the security screening process. Glasgow came top again with a combined 96% saying they had been very or fairly satisfied. Main rival Edinburgh saw its ratings drop to 90% down 4% when previously surveyed in 2009.

The findings have been released seven years after a terrorist attack at Glasgow Airport when a jeep packed with explosives was driven at the main terminal building.

Millions of pounds were spent on security measures, while a new security hub was opened a year after the terrorist attack.

More than 22million passengers have since had to use the security hall since it opened in 2008. The length of time it takes varies from person to person and is largely dependent on how much luggage there is and whether individuals have to remove items such as jackets, shoes and belts. But it can literally take seconds to clear security.

Operations director Campbell Mackinnon said: "Over the past few years we have committed significant investment to upgrading our facilities and enhancing the overall customer experience.

"This has resulted in improved, streamlined operations and a marked increase in our passenger satisfaction ratings.

"These statistics, which clearly show passengers at Glasgow Airport spend the shortest time queuing at security than at any other major UK airport, are extremely encouraging but not surprising. In 2012, we were the first airport in Scotland to introduce state-of-the-art boarding pass scanners and our security staff have worked hard to ensure all of our passengers move swiftly and easily through the terminal building as part of our departures process.

"We are incredibly proud that 99.6% of our passengers have passed through security this year in less than 10 minutes, with 97.3% waiting less than five minutes.

"Last month we officially opened our new look international arrivals area which formed part of a wider £17 million upgrade to the main terminal building.

"This good news comes at a time when more and more people are choosing to fly from Glasgow Airport."

gordon.thomson @eveningtimes.co.uk