The EU entry-exit system is supposed to be in 100 per cent operation, with all “third-country nationals” including British passport holders undergoing biometric checks when arriving at, or departing from, Schengen area frontiers.
But in the first weekend of the full roll-out, 122 easyJet passengers at Milan Linate airport watched their plane to Manchester depart without them.
Passengers were offered replacement flights five days later. Many passengers who needed to get back in a hurry spent a fortune getting home.
Max Hume, who was turned away along with his wife, Lynsey, and son Archie, spent almost £1,700 for new flights, a hotel and extra parking. He told The Independent he felt “gutted, upset, let down, absolutely shattered and poorer – much poorer”.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “While this is outside of our control, we are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
The incident has raised concern among many other travellers that their journeys could be expensively and stressfully disrupted.
Just remind us, what’s changed?
Since last Friday, the EU entry-exit system, with biometric checks, is supposed to be happening at all Schengen area frontiers. We know for a fact that it won’t be – at the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel at Folkestone and the Eurostar terminal in London the system isn’t working – but at many European airports they are evidently sticking to the EU rules.
This adds time compared with the old “check and stamp” system. Some airports, including Milan Linate, are doubling up on biometrics – requiring fingerprints and face to be registered on the way in and the way out. In addition, some airports are not staffed up sufficiently.
What the best strategy for avoiding missing my flight?
1. Own a passport from an EU or wider Schengen area nation. It is believed that some of the 34 passengers who made the flight from Milan to Manchester had such passports, from Italy and Ireland in particular. (Others got on the plane by pretending they were booked on London flights, reportedly.)
2. Don’t have any checked baggage (easier said than done especially for a family) because that way you can …
3. Turn up ridiculously early (check in often doesn’t open until two hours before departure). Normally I arrive just over an hour early – these days from Europe I make it three hours ahead and almost always end up drinking overpriced coffee for ages.
What can I do to accelerate the process?
Pre-registration is not an option. Sweden and Portugal use an app, but it’s not a huge advantage. Best thing is if you have a cheeky weekend away somewhere like Vienna or Salzburg (where I know that the process is super-smooth) so that your biometrics are already on the system. That could mean you touch down in Palma de Mallorca and go straight through.
How can airlines possibly leave without everyone on board?
Their schedules are dependent on short turnarounds, and a two-hour delay in the morning could lead to longer waits later in the day. Some airlines do wait – notably Jet2 – but if the crew are running “out of hours” the captain has to go ahead and take off. Otherwise everyone will be stranded.
There is no provision under air passengers’ rights rules for missed flights due to passport control delays.
I’ve heard passengers have had to pay twice?
On this Milan-Manchester flight easyJet staff told passengers they would need to wait four days at their own expense and pay £110 to be rebooked. But the statement from the airline suggests they will be rebooked for free.
Even so, many passengers in a hurry are paying many hundreds of pounds for alternative flights. This is not the same as being denied boarding by an airline – they simply say, it’s your job to get to the gate on time, and if you don’t then it’s tough.
Will travel insurance cover such costs?
Probably not. You could try claiming under the “Travel Delay” or “Missed Connection” clause if there is one.
But a spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers (ABI) told me: “Travel insurance is unlikely to cover losses from delays caused by EES queues so if you miss your flight, or other parts of your trip, it’s best to speak to your airline, accommodation provider or tour operator in the first instance.”
You could appeal to the Financial Ombudsman Service, but I would not be optimistic of the chances of success.
Will anyone else reimburse me?
Despite the ABI advice, here is no point speaking to the airline. After the Milan mess, easyJet stressed: ”This is outside of our control.”
Some passengers have said they will try to claim from the Milan Linate airport authorities. But Milan Airports posted a message on X (formerly Twitter) saying: “We are sorry for the inconvenience experienced by passengers, but we are unable to intervene in airline decisions made as a result of delays at passport control following the implementation of the Entry/Exit control system.” In other words, “blame easyJet”. This is beginning to get horribly circular.
The best hope applies only to people who are on proper package holidays (flights and accommodation booked in the same transaction), who may be able to argue that the tour operator has failed to provide the whole trip as booked.
Will these delays continue all summer?
I doubt it. Dr Nick Brown, the data sleuth who has been monitoring the implementation of the entry-exit system, said: “It really seems like there are two EESs. One that works and one that doesn’t. Difficult to tell if the difference is better tech, more tech, more people, or better training.”
After an incident like this, with so many distraught passengers, I hope the Foreign Office will be making strident requests to the European Commission to offer more flexibility in locations that are experiencing problems.
Read more: From ‘EES minus’ to ‘EES plus’ – this is the inconsistent reality of Europe’s border lottery
