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Brits warned to arrive 3 hours early at airports as new checks spark delays

Wizz Air has warned British tourists to arrive three hours before their flights as the EU's new Entry Exit System (EES) biometric checks cause significant delays at European airports in Spain, France and Portugal

[Passengers use their biometric passport at an automated ePassport gate equiped with a facial recognition system at the British border of the Eurostar at the gare du Nord in Paris on February 17, 2017. - After London last year, Eurostar has installed electronic passport gates with facial recognition technology for passengers travelling from Paris. Passengers with biometric passports scan the document at a first gate and then proceed to a second gate where a camera compares their features with their passport picture before allowing them through to the departure lounge. (Photo by PHILIPPE LOPEZ / AFP) (Photo by PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP via Getty Images)]

It might be airport chaos for many Brits this summer (file)(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

British holidaymakers are being urged to allow extra time at European airports before flying home due to significant delays triggered by biometric checks.

Wizz Air chief Yvonne Moynihan has cautioned travellers returning from EU destinations to get to the airport three hours before their scheduled departure time over worries about the new security measures.

The EU entry-exit system (EES) has now substituted passport stamps with digital registration, featuring biometric checks conducted on arrival and departure for all non-EU nationals.

The EES has been progressively rolled out across Europe since October last year but became fully operational last month. Since then, holidaymakers have experienced massive delays at border control.

[An aerial view of a bustling airport terminal, where a large crowd of travelers is seen navigating a busy airport ]

The new checks are already causing delays (file)(Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)

Just last week, French authorities temporarily suspended the EES checks at Dover port to release thousands of tourists stuck in lengthy delays in sweltering conditions, reports the Mirror.

Ms Moynihan told the BBC: "Because there is another passport check ... that's where we see that people have, again, experienced longer waiting times than anticipated."

She explained that while standard guidance is to reach the airport two hours before departure, "in these circumstances, we are advising three hours".

The new procedures have been "fragmented across Europe", she added, with some EU nations experiencing "seamless travel" while at the other extreme, there have been extensive queues and hold-ups at "usual hotspots such as Spain, Portugal, France". "When you land in the destination airport, there might be queues, so you should bring a portable charger or water," Moynihan said her airline is advising in general to any British customers travelling from an EU destination.

For those with connecting flights, she recommended allowing for several hours.

Her remarks come as the European airports association ACI Europe cautioned that queues have been hitting a staggering three-and-a-half hours during busy periods, according to its survey carried out across 45 airports in 20 EU states on May 26.

"Airports which previously did not report excessive waiting times are now doing so despite the extensive use of partial suspension of EES," it said in a statement to Travel Weekly.

Nevertheless, the European Commission told the BBC that the EES was not the sole factor that can trigger delays at the border, noting information may only take around a minute to register.

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