British passengers returning home via European airports should allow three hours before their flights, a Wizz Air boss has advised, due to long queues caused by the EU's new entry-exit system (EES). The system, which replaces passport stamps with digital registration, has been fully operational since last month and has led to significant delays at border checks.
Wizz Air's Yvonne Moynihan told the BBC that while standard advice is to arrive two hours before a flight, passengers should now allow three hours because of additional passport checks. She noted that the impact is fragmented across Europe, with seamless travel in some areas but long queues at hotspots like Spain, Portugal, and France.
Moynihan advised passengers to bring portable chargers and water, as queues may also occur at destination airports. She recommended allowing several hours between connecting flights. The European airports association, ACI Europe, reported queues of up to 3.5 hours at peak times, based on a survey of 45 airports in 20 EU states.
Last week, French police temporarily suspended EES checks at the port of Dover as thousands faced delays in hot weather. A port spokesperson welcomed the use of an article 9 clause that allows for temporary relaxation of checks. The European Commission stated that EES registration typically takes about a minute and is not the sole cause of delays.
