Brits warned to expect another summer of travel chaos due to new border rules

HOLIDAYMAKERS heading abroad this summer are being warned to expect more problems at the border, leading to long queues.

A number of new systems are being introduced this year following Brexit.

3

3

This includes a new Entry/Exit System (EES) at the border which will replace the stamping of passports.

Despite this initially due to start last year, it has been delayed a number of times, and now won’t start until the end of 2023.

This is likely to cause delays even more at the border, which resulted in huge queues last summer.

This is because Police Aux Frontieres (PAF) still need to be present to stamp the passports, which resulted in huge queues last year due to a shortage of staff.

A source told the Telegraph: “In terms of process, this year will be no different to last year.

“Of course, it will be a lot better than what it would have been had the EU demanded biometric tests were conducted manually.

“But [at best] it is only going to be a little better than last year.”

The new EES system has resulted in Eurostar having to sell fewer tickets, as the border controls cannot process a full train of passengers.

Eurostar chief executive Gwendoline Cazenave claimed as many as a third of seats are being unsold to avoid a”bottleneck at stations”.

This works out to around 350 empty seats per train, which is likely to drive up prices as well due to limited tickets.

She explained: “We have a main issue in Eurostar terminals because of the new boarding conditions between the UK and EU, because of the impact of Covid, because of staff in the stations.”

Experts have said that airports hope to be unaffected by the new entry rules, and run as normal ahead of a bumper summer.

EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren said he was “confident” airports were ready for the busy summer.

However, others have warned that the new rules will bring delays at the border for non-EU travellers.

The Slovenian government told The Independent: “It takes up to four times longer to do the new process – border check + enrolment + verification.”

Austria warned that process times would at least “double compared to the current situation” while Croatia said that border checks would “certainly be significantly longer”.

And strikes are already due to take place across airports.

Border Force agents have confirmed they will be going on strike on February 1.

Yesterday, Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) was forced to ground all flights after a mass walkout of staff.

And air traffic controllers from 16 airports across Spain announced strike action for several days in January and February.

3