Even at airports where you have to take things out, there are ways of making it work. Big, clear signs in multiple languages/with pictures showing what you have to do, lots of "work surfaces" to reorganise your bag without blocking the queue behind you, staff that are there to help not just to bark at you, etc.

When I',m flying to UK I always wonder if there are so many first timers, or people are so ignorant.

In Germany I never seen so many people have to open the bags after the scan, and have them re-scanned.

This is the reason I opt to pay for TSA PreCheck (in the US, obviously). Not because it saves hassle (though it certainly does that), but because it pretty effectively filters out first timers.

Well not Germany, but the average American flies ~1/yr so yes the terminal is full of first time fliers effectively.

> lots of "work surfaces" to reorganise your bag without blocking the queue behind you

Yeah, this is what I've actually never seen in Europe. They mostly just expect you to pack everything back up quickly and tend to be annoyed if it takes some time. Which it usually does because I have to collect my belongings from several trays, some of which may have gone to additional checks, so they don't all come back together.

I'd say Heathrow (at least T3) is pretty good at this. Lots of space before security, and then afterwards there's tables to put stuff back in your bag.

at Munich airport, at one of terminals they have new devices. You have to leave everything inside. Laptop, water etc. You just have to remove items from your pockets, belt. So much faster.

My worst experience was in UK, multiple times, at Manchester airport. So much drama there.

Manchester airport is weird and frankly discriminatory. There's two security areas, and one has all the middle eastern airlines and in my experience the staff are way more short with customers in that security area than the other.

It's been chaotic at Manchester Airport ever since they re-opened after COVID. I'm pretty sure I read there's a lack of staff and they're struggling to hire enough new people.

The last few times I've been I bought fast pass to skip the ridiculous queues at security.

It's been mixed for me.

San Salvador (SAL/MSLP) was probably the most obnoxious, with a double security configuration for US-bound flights. Basically had to pass through security in Lima, then again at SAL, and due to the config, it meant you couldn't get food in the main SAL terminal and wait at your gate - you had to eat it before entering the "US Zone" and then hope you weren't thirsty again. Also, everything electronic out of the bag, dump fluids, etc.

Heathrow wasn't great. Long lines for security. Also, they had some buggy facial recognition system that couldn't match me (at the gate) to a photo taken a few hours earlier in the security line. And the gate agent was completely clueless about what to do next. They eventually let me board anyways. Not sure what they were trying to accomplish - I had already passed through security, the final face check was at the gate during boarding.

Reykjavik was fine, no different than a US hub. Same for Rome and Lima.

Inverness and Edinburgh had typical checks, but the airports are so small and uncrowded that it's pretty stress-free. The only "problem" I've had a both is the ticket agents tend to show up moments before boarding begins (first flight of day), which gets my anxiety up some - I like to be at the gate relaxing well in advance.

It seems to entirely depend on the mood of the security agents, and the backlog.

I've watched them dynamically adjust the levels of required "unpacking all your shit" based on how long the lines are getting.

Normal TSA is shoes-off, belt-off, laptops and electronics in a separate bin. What you experienced sounds more like TSA Pre-Check.