Arrive three hours early at European airports as long queues expected, air boss warns returning UK holidaygoers
British holidaymakers are being urged to arrive at European airports three hours before their flight home in case of delays.
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The UK boss of Wizz Air said it's because new border checks are expected to cause long queues.
Yvonne Moynihan said there have been long delays in getting through passport control at major European airports, with some passengers missing return or connecting flights.
As of last month, travellers from outside the EU must register fingerprints under the Entry Exit System (EES)
EES information has to be verified when people depart, meaning there is a risk of queues building up ahead of flights back to the UK.
"Because there is another passport check...that's where we see that people have, again, experienced longer waiting times than anticipated," Ms Moynihan said.
Read more: Ryanair boss says four-hour passport queues are EU's punishment to Britain for Brexit
She said typical advice is to arrive at the airport two hours before your flight, "but in these circumstances, we are advising three hours".
Anyone taking a connecting flight should allow "a number of hours" between flights in case of border queues, she told the BBC. But travel expert Simon Calder said the Wizz Air boss’ advice isn't straightforward.
He said: “First of all, it's fine if you've got cabin baggage. Only if you're checking in bags, that's a little bit tricky because quite often the check- in doesn't open until a couple of hours before the flight. “It's a really serious issue for a lot of people. Very, very patchy.”
Earlier this month, a survey revealed that nearly three out of five (59%) UK holidaymakers travelling to Europe this year expect delays linked to the EES. Almost half of the respondents to the poll commissioned by travel company Booking.com said they fear missing flights because of the border checks.
Representative body Airports Council International recently reported that EES was causing delays of up to three hours, with airports in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy among the worst affected.
EES involves people from third-party countries, such as the UK, having their fingerprints registered and a photograph taken to enter the Schengen Area, which consists of 29 European countries, mainly in the EU.
For most UK travellers, the process is done at foreign airports.