EU border system delays are stretching passport control times for UK travelers, while Ryanair warns summer passengers to plan for longer waits.
The EU border system is making passport control slower for British travelers, with one airport executive saying the process has nearly tripled in time even after changes were made. The warning comes as the EU border system continues to roll out across Europe and airlines tell passengers to expect longer waits this summer.
Ryanair has urged UK passengers heading to Europe to allow extra time for their journeys and prepare for extended lines at passport control. The airline said the failed rollout of the system is causing avoidable delays. Some airports have seen queues last for hours, and travelers have reported missing flights home.
The new digital Entry Exit System, known as EES, applies to non-EU citizens entering the Schengen area, which includes 29 European countries. It requires visitors to register fingerprints and a photo on arrival, with the information checked again when they leave. The process is being phased in through kiosks and, in some cases, with border officers. The European Commission says disruption is limited at most airports and says it will keep supporting member states as the system is implemented.
At Rome’s Fiumicino airport, Chief Aviation Officer Ivan Bassato told the BBC that linking the system with e-gates has helped, but not enough. He said the time for UK nationals to get through the border has risen from seven minutes to 20 minutes. Bassato said the airport is not satisfied with waits of one or two hours and believes some parts of the process need urgent fixes. He also said more countries should use the EU pre-registration app, which is now in use only in Sweden and Portugal.
Travelers passing through Rome described long delays, including one family that spent two hours in the queue after landing. A visitor from the United States said he and his wife missed their car because of the wait. Other passengers who came through Barcelona before continuing to Rome also described lines lasting close to an hour, with some machines not working properly.
In Portugal, border police at Faro airport said bugs in the system can slow things down, though they expect most queues to ease quickly. Superintendent Pedro Oliveira said a ten-minute wait can sometimes stretch beyond thirty minutes, while waits of more than an hour are rare. He said more officers have been recruited and noted that technology problems can affect systems across member states at the same time. The takeaway: Europe’s new border checks are already changing how long it takes to get through the airport, and travelers from Britain should plan ahead.
