British tourists have faced long queues at airports across Europe as the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES) takes effect. Some travellers have missed flights back to the UK, including more than 100 passengers who missed their easyJet flight from Milan to Manchester earlier this year.
Which? Identifies Worst-Affected Airports
Consumer group Which? identified 11 European airports that appear to be the most affected. Its travel editor, Rory Boland, examined hundreds of traveller forums to find which airports caused the most frustration due to EES.
“I focused on EES queues on departure,” Boland said. “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.”
The 11 airports listed by Which? are:
- Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport, Spain
- Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Netherlands
- Berlin Brandenburg Airport, Germany
- Kraków Airport, Poland
- Humberto Delgado Airport (Lisbon), Portugal
- Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport, Spain
- Milan Bergamo Airport, Italy
- Milan Linate, Italy
- Palma de Mallorca Airport, Spain
- Paris Beauvais Airport, France
- Tenerife South Airport, Spain
Ryanair Warns Passengers
Ryanair, Europe's largest airline, has warned its flyers to allow extra time at airports due to the EES changes. The airline highlighted its own list of worst-affected airports: Lisbon, Tenerife South, Madrid, Lanzarote, Alicante, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, Verona, Paris Beauvais, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt Hahn, Krakow and Budapest.
EES System Disruption
The EU Entry/Exit System is a digital border control system requiring British passport holders to register biometric details (fingerprints and photo) upon arrival in the 29 Schengen Area countries. This causes delays on both arrival and departure.
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 wait times have tripled. 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.”
Some European airports have been granted permission to drop the new system due to backlogs. The system applies only to Schengen Area countries; the Republic of Ireland and Cyprus are in the EU but not in Schengen, so their airports are unaffected.
