New Europe Entry Rules Take Effect Today, Sparking Concerns Over Lengthy Airport Wait Times
HOLIDAYMAKERS could face longer queues at the airport from today when travelling to Europe. was originally introduced back in April, however due to huge delays...
HOLIDAYMAKERS could face longer queues at the airport from today when travelling to Europe.
was originally introduced back in April, however due to huge delays at several airports the EU allowed EES checks to be paused in “exceptional circumstances” when queues get too long.
EES was originally introduced back in April but was allowed to be paused when airports experienced long wait times Credit: PA
But from today, this allowance will no longer be allowed.
This means that EU states can no longer temporarily pauseat their airports.
EU countries were previously able to pause the system for up to six hours, over the summer .
Countries that used the allowance included France, Portugal and
Some airports even had to shut down the new machines that handle the EES checks, and turn them on again after they became overwhelmed.
The new system means Brits must register biometrics upon their first entry to a
But in some destinations the new process has resulted in lengthy queues.
Some travellers have even waited up to six hours in
It comes after a number of travellers missed their flights over the summer due to long queues Credit: Alamy
And back in June, a number of passengers heading back to the UK from in Greece even missed their flight.
Around 50 passengers were reported to have still been queuing when their flight took off to
In April, around 100 passengers also missed a flight from Milan to Manchester Airport because of delays at passport desks.
Ryanair has since called on the EU to extend the allowance of suspending EES until next year, calling the rollout a “shambles”.
The airline’s COO Neal McMahon, said: “Passengers should not be made pay the price for the EU’s failed EES rollout.
“Ryanair calls on the EU Commission to urgently extend the EES derogation until at least Apr 2027, so that airports and border authorities have the time needed to fix malfunctioning kiosks, increase staffing levels and ensure the system can operate efficiently before full enforcement is introduced and passenger are condemned to these excessive border control delays for another season.”