New Europe entry rules start from TODAY amid fears of even longer airport queues

HOLIDAYMAKERS could face longer queues at the airport from today when travelling to Europe. Europe’s Entry/Exit System (EES) was originally introduced back in April, however due to huge delays at several airports the EU allowed EES checks to be paused in “exceptional circumstances” when queues get too long. EES was originally introduced back in April but was allowed to be paused when airports experienced long wait times Credit: PA But from today, this allowance will no longer be allowed. This means that EU states can no longer temporarily pause EES checks at their airports. Sign up for the Travel newsletter Thank you! EU countries were previously able to pause the system for up to six hours, over the summer holidays. Countries that used the allowance included France, Portugal and Greece. Read more on travel inspo Some airports even had to shut down the new machines that handle the EES checks, and turn them on again after they became overwhelmed. The new system means Brits must register biometrics upon their first entry to a Schengen country. But in some destinations the new process has resulted in lengthy queues. Some travellers have even waited up to six hours in airports. Most read in Travel It comes after a number of travellers missed their flights over the summer due to long queues Credit: Alamy And back in June, a number of passengers heading back to the UK from Athens in Greece even missed their flight. Around 50 passengers were reported to have still been queuing when their flight took off to London Luton Airport. In April, around 100 easyJet passengers also missed a flight from Milan to Manchester Airport because of delays at passport desks. Ryanair has since called on the EU to extend the allowance of suspending EES until next year, calling the rollout a “shambles”. The airline’s COO Neal McMahon, said: “Passengers should not be made pay the price for the EU’s failed EES rollout. “Ryanair calls on the EU Commission to urgently extend the EES derogation until at least Apr 2027, so that airports and border authorities have the time needed to fix malfunctioning kiosks, increase staffing levels and ensure the system can operate efficiently before full enforcement is introduced and passenger are condemned to these excessive border control delays for another season.” Comment now