Any recourse with airport/security companies through the normal legal processes.
Thank you. It seems this is a breakdown in the equality process of the whole operation. Claiming from an Airline under EU261 might seem simple, but as has been reported, airlines, like insurance companies, are masters at wiggling out of paying compensation; perhaps even with mis-information. However, the passengers' rights are well documented.
Having to claim against an airport via the normal legal channels would seem very deterring and often difficult to prove, and expensive. Missing your flight could turn out to be very expensive, though. There would be more wiggle room for the airport to deny liability than an airline.
Was there not a case some years ago at STN, where 00's of RYR pax missed flights due to lack of checkin desks? However, that would be because the airline did not pay for enough desks to cover its flights in that period. EU261 would have effect, but tricky to prove. Now the same things happen with security channels, which is the airport's fault. No EU261. Seems unbalanced from a 'consumers rights' point of view.