BRIT TOURISTS HIT BY 4-HOUR AIRPORT DELAY
Terror rules cause enormous queues
NEW EU rules to tackle terrorism have forced Brits to endure extra waiting time of up to four hours at European airports.
Passengers have missed flights due to being stuck in the massive queues. Others have fainted in the heat.
Nicki Gillon, 36, described the chaos at Majorca’s Palma airport as “insane”.
The fashion stylist, of Manchester, said: “There were around 2,000 people waiting to go through immigration. People were collapsing, there was no air conditioning in the tunnel.”
Extra checks have been imposed in countries in Europe’s Schengen zone. The new rules, affecting people from nations that are not part of the border-free Schengen agreement, require passport control to refer to Interpol records of lost or stolen travel documents.
Previously, there were spot checks on a small number of travellers while most were waved through after their passports were looked at briefly. Member states had until October to bring in new checks, but many have already introduced them. Airlines for Europe, the association representing carriers such as British Airways, said flight delays at some airports have risen 300% compared to last year.
Managing director Thomas Reynaert added airports in cities such as Madrid, Lisbon, Milan and Brussels are “producing shameful pictures of devastated passengers in front of immigration booths, in lines stretching hundreds of metres”.
A passenger at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, talked of four hours of waiting time at passport control.
Brits also faced misery in Barcelona where security staff at El Prat airport have taken industrial action.
They have been working to rule by deliberately taking the maximum of 10 minutes to deal with each passenger. Airlines said it has caused hundreds of people to miss flights.
There were 2,000 people waiting at immigration... people were collapsing BRIT TRAVELLER ON MISERY IN STIFLING HEAT AT AIRPORT