Flight chaos to hit the UK over the summer holidays
Key Points
- Wizz Air UK managing director Yvonne Moynihan has told British holidaymakers to arrive at European airports three hours before flights home, up from the usual two.
- The warning follows queues of up to three and a half hours at European airports under the EU Entry Exit System, which registers travellers' fingerprints.
- Almost 80 million entries and exits have been logged since October, with 35,000 refusals of entry recorded.
- Spain, Portugal and France are named as the worst hotspots, while Greece has suspended biometric checks for British citizens to protect its summer season.
- Airport body ACI Europe expects the situation to deteriorate and become unmanageable as passenger volumes climb towards the peak.
Yvonne Moynihan, UK Managing Director of budget airline Wizz Air, has told British holidaymakers to reach European airports three hours before their flight home departs.
She cited biometric border queues that have reached three and a half hours and caused some passengers to miss return and connecting flights.
Speaking to the BBC, Moynihan said the usual recommendation is to arrive two hours ahead of a flight, but that current conditions warrant a full three hours. She also urged anyone booked on a connecting flight to leave several hours between legs, warning that border queues now pose a real risk of missed onward travel.
The disruption stems from the EU Entry Exit System, known as EES, which requires travellers from outside the bloc to register fingerprints and other biometric information on entry to many European countries.
That data is then verified again on departure, which means the queues hit Britons twice, once on arrival at the destination and again before the flight home. Since October, almost 80 million entries and exits have been registered through the system, alongside 35,000 refusals of entry.
The scheme was meant to be fully operational across the Schengen free movement zone, including airports, from 10 April.
Moynihan described the rollout as fragmented across the continent. Travel has been seamless in some places, including her own half term trip to Mallorca, where extra staff and a large number of EES kiosks meant she faced no queues at all.
Elsewhere, the picture is far worse, with long waits reported at what she called the usual hotspots of Spain, Portugal and France.
Greece has gone further than most, effectively suspending biometric checks at its borders for British citizens to head off summer disruption, and Portugal has announced 360 additional border officers for its airports in July.
ACI Europe, a trade body representing airports, surveyed 45 airports across 20 EU states and found EES was driving queues of up to three and a half hours, with more airports now reporting excessive waiting times despite widespread partial suspension of the checks.
The group expects conditions to deteriorate and become unmanageable as passenger numbers build towards the summer peak, and it has called for fixes to an unstable central IT system and national interfaces, plus higher border staffing levels.
For travellers, Moynihan offered practical advice for the wait itself, suggesting passengers pack a portable charger and water for queues on landing.
On wider summer fears, including speculation that tensions in the Middle East could disrupt jet fuel supply, she said passengers should feel confident booking, echoing bosses at EasyJet and Jet2.
Wizz Air anticipates no shortages and no cuts to its schedule, and a trend of late bookings has pushed fares to what Moynihan called very affordable prices, though she acknowledged that fares could rise later if oil prices stay high.
