Airlines and travel groups have urged EU countries to be more flexible with its border system after passengers stuck in lengthy queues were left stranded.
More than 100 people travelling with easyJet to Manchester from Milan Linate airport were left behind on Sunday as they faced a three-hour wait at passport control.
With limited air conditioning, one woman in the queue was “being sick into a gift bag”, another almost “passed out” and airport staff were forced to send out bottles of water, a passenger claimed. Many had to book new flights home, costing thousands of pounds in some cases.
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EasyJet flight EJU5420 took off with just 34 passengers on board, leaving behind 122 others. Their checked-in luggage was removed from the aircraft as they stood in the queue.
The airline said the delay was “outside of our control” and that the flight had had to leave because the crew’s allocated hours would otherwise have been exceeded.
It is the latest in a series of delays caused by the EU’s new entry-exit system (EES), which requires all passengers without EU member state passports to have their fingerprints registered and photographs taken. The system came into full effect last week after an introduction beset by technical problems in popular destinations that caused queue times of up to four hours.
EU states have the power to temporarily stand down the system in the event of disruption, but this is not always used.
It is understood that passengers missed flights in Faro, Pisa and Venice over the weekend because of EES delays. There have also been lengthy queues in Porto, Brussels and Amsterdam since the full implementation.
Lynsey Hume, her husband, Max, and their 13-year-old son, Archie, were travelling home to Leeds after an Easter skiing holiday and had been due to catch the 11am flight.
Max and Lynsey Hume missed their flight despite arriving at the airport three hours early
“We were advised by easyJet to go down an hour before because it was carnage, but we thought ‘let’s not leave it to chance’ and went down two hours before,” she said. “There were around 40 people in front of us [in the queue]. We just didn’t move. By this point people were getting hot and I thought I was going to pass out. The lady in front of us was being sick in a gift bag.”
She said that no one from easyJet came to speak to airport staff or passengers, and that they had been left asking for information from an online chatbot.
“Once we got through, airport staff said the flight had gone. I said ‘How can it go? There’s no one on it’,” Hume added. “How can you morally leave people? There was someone with a four-month-old and they’re wandering the streets trying to find somewhere to stay.”
She said easyJet had offered them flights for later in the week but that, as teachers, both needed to be home for the start of term.
The family eventually flew back via Luxembourg, spending an additional £2,000 which they hope to claim back on insurance. Other passengers were left sleeping at the airport or travelling to other airports to board flights.
“I’d like compensation and money back — we’ve been offered nothing,” said Hume. “I’m never going with easyJet ever again. How we’ve been treated is absolutely shocking.”
Milan-Linate is a small airport servicing short and medium-range destinations in EuropeAlamy
The airline said: “Due to delays in EES processing by border authorities, some passengers departing from Milan Linate yesterday experienced very long waiting times at passport control.
“We held flight EJU5420 from Milan to Manchester for nearly an hour to give passengers extra time but it had to then depart due to crew reaching their safety regulated operating hours. Customers who missed the flight have been offered a free flight transfer.
“We continue to urge border authorities to ensure they make full and effective use of the permitted flexibilities for as long as needed while EES is implemented, to avoid these unacceptable border delays for our customers.
“While this is outside of our control, we are sorry for any inconvenience caused.”
Michael O’Leary, the boss of Ryanair, said that EES had so far been a “shambles” and suggested that the EU was seeking to punish Britain for Brexit.
Luke Petherbridge, director of public affairs at Abta, the travel association, said: “These are exactly the worst-case scenarios that we feared would happen and have been warning the European Commission and destinations about.
“We can’t comprehend why the contingency measures aren’t being applied in these situations — border guards have it within their power to avoid this.”
The EU has been contacted for comment.