British holidaymakers could face queues of up to five hours in cities across Europe from Monday, travel experts have warned, with EU border checks set to resume in full following a temporary pause over the summer.
The new Entry/Exit System (EES) system for British passport holders and other third-country travellers to nations within the EU or Schengen area initially came into effect in April, but member states were allowed to relax some restrictions to ease congestion at borders during peak season.
However, these permissions, which included suspending biometric checks during busy periods, will expire for the 29 countries using EES on Sunday – despite several countries asking the European Commission to keep it.
Shorts
In July, nine countries – Greece, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Switzerland and the Netherlands – called the loophole’s planned end “a source of serious and legitimate concern” in a letter to European Commissioner for Internal and Migration Affairs Magnus Brunner.
