British travellers heading home from Europe this summer could face significantly longer airport waits, with Wizz Air warning passengers to arrive up to three hours before departure as new post-Brexit border checks continue to cause disruption.
The budget airline says some travellers have already missed flights due to lengthy passport control queues linked to the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES), which requires non-EU visitors to register biometric data when entering and leaving the Schengen Area.
Across Europe, airports have confirmed that there have been significant queues, which are getting worse as the busy summer season approaches.
While the European Commission has repeatedly said the EES is working well at a majority of crossing points, many airlines and airports have been struggling because of it.
The system means that travellers from outside the EU – including the UK, since Brexit came into force – need to register biometric information, including fingerprints, when entering many countries in the Schengen Area. That information is then checked again when they leave.
