Anne Robinson and her 13-year-old son Jack arrived at Rome’s airport in June, joined a 90-minute queue for the EU’s new digital border system, and missed their flight home. They were not alone. The Entry/Exit System – which requires UK travellers to register fingerprints and a photo when scanning a passport – has triggered long delays and technical glitches at some airports, with holidaymakers forced to pay for new tickets after being held up.
So what can you do to avoid the same fate? The UK boss of budget airline Wizz Air told the BBC that British travellers should arrive at European airports three hours before their flight home departs. Jet2 and Ryanair have suggested the same, depending on the airport. Eurostar, however, advises passengers to stick to the recommended time on their ticket, as it already factors in the EES steps. At the Port of Dover, where technology issues have prevented the system from being used, passengers are told to arrive no more than two hours before their ferry departure – arriving too early could cause queues to build up.
“Travellers risk missing flights and paying extra due to EU's new border checks; experts advise arriving three hours early.”
Building in plenty of time is only half the battle. Airlines and travel providers send messages about current waiting times and changes, so it is vital to be signed up for them. The Civil Aviation Authority says: “Airlines typically notify passengers of significant delays. We also advise passengers to always check directly with their airline before heading to the airport to allow enough time for security checks and reaching their departure gate.” Downloading airline apps in advance and checking that alerts are not filtered into junk folders can help – though travellers should watch out for scams trying to exploit the situation.
Even with these precautions, there is little financial protection if things go wrong. Airlines are under no obligation to put passengers on another flight without an extra charge if they miss their flight because of EES queues. And the Association of British Insurers warns that travel insurance is unlikely to cover the cost of new flights, hotels or other losses incurred from delays caused by the system. For Anne Robinson and Jack, that meant paying for a second ticket – a cost that could have been avoided with a little more time and a signed-up phone.