Travelers faced a harrowing ordeal at European airports this weekend as the European Union's newly implemented Entry-Exit System (EES) caused massive delays, leaving over 100 passengers stranded when their EasyJet flight departed without them.
At Milan's Linate Airport on Sunday, queues stretched for hours as third-country nationals—including British citizens—underwent mandatory biometric registration. The system, which became fully operational on Friday, requires facial scans and fingerprint collection upon entry to the Schengen zone, with additional checks upon departure.
Carol Boon, 59, from Staffordshire, described the scene as "just horrible." She was among a group returning from a hen weekend who missed their Manchester-bound flight. "It was very stressful; people arguing, someone fainted, someone was sick," she recounted. Boon has since paid for temporary accommodation in Milan while awaiting a Tuesday flight to Gatwick.
Max Hume, 56, from Leeds, called the experience "awful, just a mess." He spent £1,800 arranging alternative travel via Luxembourg after EasyJet offered him a Thursday flight with a £300 fee. "EasyJet offered us £19 and a flight on Thursday," Hume said, "but we would have had to pay £300."
According to airport and airline associations ACI Europe and A4E, border control waiting times reached two to three hours during peak periods. In one instance, no passengers had arrived at a departure gate by its scheduled closing time, with only 12 appearing 90 minutes later.
Joy Oliver, who arrived three hours before her scheduled departure, described "absolute carnage" at border control. She and her husband have rebooked to Edinburgh, requiring family to collect their cars from Manchester Airport while they arrange transportation from Scotland to Lancaster.
Adam Hoijard from Wirral said his family's three-hour early arrival wasn't enough. "How much time can you leave to wait in a queue and be told to wait?" he questioned, noting his five-year-old son was "lying in bed crying" after the ordeal. The family has spent £1,000 on new flights to Gatwick.
EasyJet acknowledged "unacceptable" delays but placed responsibility on border authorities. "We continue to urge border authorities to ensure they make full and effective use of the permitted flexibilities for as long as needed while EES is implemented," an airline spokesperson stated.
Travel agent Laura Featonby warned that entry "will take longer" under the new system, with data stored for three years. She noted potential "teething problems" with the rollout but emphasized that border control management falls to individual countries, not airlines.
Until recently, authorities could suspend EES entirely during excessive delays. Now only partial suspensions are permitted, prompting calls for greater flexibility ahead of summer travel peaks.