Passengers have been issued a stark message about being caught up in airport delays
Peak travel season is here, with many Brits jetting off on their summer holidays. Thousands of holidaymakers are flocking abroad over the next few weeks.
However, this year things are looking very different if you are travelling to Europe. The new EU Entry/Exit System (ESS) was fully implemented in April, resulting in significant travel disruptions that are still continuing at many airports.
Brits have found themselves in queues lasting hours as they try to pass through the digital border system. It has even seen some travellers missing their flights, leaving their holidays in tatters.
The system is used at airport arrivals and departures in the EU and the Schengen area. Travellers have been urged to get to airports even earlier than usual so they aren’t caught up in queues, especially when returning to the UK.
Now, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has issued a stark message to anyone flying on his airline this summer. He has admitted the airline will not wait for anyone stuck in queues, and that the flight will carry on as scheduled.
While on the Telegraph’s Travel Expert podcast, host Simon Calder asked: “If I were a passenger, say at Milan Bergamo Airport, and was stuck in a mile-long queue, how long are you going to be waiting for me? And if you can’t wait for me, what are you going to do?”
Mr O’Leary replied: “Nothing. We will not wait for anybody. If you are stuck, if you are not at the boarding gate when we finish boarding, the plane is going without you.
“We are not delaying our flights for people who are stuck in passport control queues. They have to show up at the airport earlier, but they have to be at the boarding gate; otherwise, they are not flying.”
Travel expert Simon previously branded the entry and exit system a “Euro shambles”. He named Milan Malpensa, Lisbon, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt and Copenhagen as the airports with the “worst” delays.
Simon previously said on the podcast: “From what I have experienced, and certainly one of them is Milan Malpensa. The fingerprint stuff took an hour, and I was the first one off the EasyJet plane from Gatwick.
“Then, I went through the other terminal to check out and it took 45 minutes that time but they wanted those fingerprints again, which is absolutely not in the rules.”
He added: “I have heard terrible stories from Lisbon, other places frequently mentioned, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt.
“Both of them are huge hubs where you have got a lot of people flying from various regional airports across the UK into Paris and Frankfurt to connect.
“That’s okay if you are going intercontinental but if you are trying to connect to somewhere in Europe it is awful.”
