British holidaymakers are being warned to brace for delays of up to six hours at European borders this summer, as the European Union's new entry and exit system takes effect. The waits are said to be worse than many had feared, arriving just as the peak holiday season gets under way. For travellers heading to popular European destinations, the start of the summer break risks being overshadowed by long queues.
At the centre of the disruption is the EU's new entry and exit system, which changes how non-EU visitors are processed at the border. Under the scheme, travellers may have to provide additional personal information, including having their fingerprints taken and photographs recorded. The extra checks add time at each crossing, and with millions of people on the move, the delays quickly build up.
The warning has been underlined by the airline industry. Raphael Schwartzman, the vice president for Europe at the International Air Transport Association, cautioned that the EU's border system carries a hard risk of long waiting times. In some cases, he said, those delays have already resulted in people missing their flights altogether.
The problem is not limited to airports. The same lengthy queues are being reported at Dover, the busy ferry port, as well as at train stations and on the Eurostar. Wherever British travellers cross into the European Union, the new requirements are slowing the flow of passengers and creating bottlenecks at the busiest times of day.
A recurring complaint is that the system appears under-resourced. Despite years of advance notice to prepare for the change, there are concerns that there are simply not enough machines in place and not enough staff to operate them. That shortfall has left passengers facing hours-long queues and being told to arrive far earlier than usual.
With the summer travel season now building, the pressure on the new system is only set to grow. Industry figures warn that without more capacity, the delays could continue to disrupt journeys through the busiest months of the year. For now, holidaymakers are being advised to allow significant extra time whenever they cross into Europe.