British tourists have faced long queues in airports across Europe as the new EU Entry/Exit system takes effect. Some travellers have even missed flights back to the UK as a result of the queues, like more than 100 passengers who missed their easyJet flight from Milan back to Manchester earlier this year. Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline, has warned its flyers to allow extra time at airports because of this change and subsequent delays.
The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is a new digital border control system that has changed the requirements for British passport holders entering the Schengen Area. Passengers are now required to register their biometric details, such as fingerprints and a photo, upon arrival in the 29 Schengen Area countries. This can cause delays when arriving or leaving one of these countries, as there are border control checks on both journeys. Some European airports have been granted permission to drop the new system as it has been causing delays and backlogs.
Consumer group Which? says that 11 European airports seem to be the most affected. The group’s travel editor, Rory Boland, examined hundreds of traveller forums to find out which airports have caused the most frustration as a result of the new EES.
“I focused on EES queues on departure,” he revealed. “While delays on arrival are often worse, it’s long queues at departure that cause passengers to miss flights, as many have in Paris and Milan.”
He revealed the 11 airports that came up most in his research:
The European Commission said that in most EU airports, disruption is limited, and member states will be supported in the system’s implementation.
However, bosses at Rome’s Fiumicino airport said that wait times have tripled as a result of the new rules. Ivan Bassato, the airport’s Chief Aviation Officer, told the BBC: “We are not at the point where you have the same quality of the process [as] before the EES.”
Warning millions of its UK passengers, Ryanair has highlighted its own list of airports it says are the worst affected by the EES changes. They are Lisbon, Tenerife South, Madrid, Lanzarote, Alicante, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, Verona, Paris Beauvais, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt Hahn, Krakow and Budapest.
The new system only applies to Schengen Area countries. Even though the Republic of Ireland and Cyprus are in the EU, they are not in the Schengen Area, so these airports are not affected.
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