British holidaymakers face EU travel chaos as dozens of airports 'unprepared' for post-Brexit fingerprint rules

3 July 2024, 15:06

British holidaymakers could face travel chaos this summer due to airports being underprepared for post-Brexit fingerprint rules, airline bosses have warned.

Smaller airports across the EU have so far failed to install fingerprint technology that is due to be activated this October under the new European Entry/Exit System (EES), senior industry bosses have warned.

Under the EES, all British nationals travelling to the EU will have to have their biometric data taken upon crossing the border for the first time.

They will need to have their fingerprints scanned and a photograph taken to register them on the database - the data will then be stored for three years.

It is intended to replace the scanning and stamping of passports that has been mandatory for most Brits since Brexit.

The new rules will only apply to non-EU nationals.

Before Brexit, the majority of affected non-EU travellers would have passed through major hub airports, which have already brought in the required technology.

But British tourists often land in regional airports when travelling to the EU - and it is these smaller airports that airline bosses fear are unprepared for the change in rules.

This means British tourists landing in smaller airports could face lengthy delays unless the issue is remedied quickly, the Telegraph reports.

The airline industry’s global trade body warned that “urgent and coordinated” action is required, and the prospect of delaying the EES has also been raised.

Dover Port said it had decided to stop hiring staff for the project amid uncertainty over the timeline.

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Port of Dover, Folkestone Eurotunnel terminal and London St Pancras station will carry out the checks before the cross-Channel journeys.

The Port of Dover is creating a registration zone in the ferry holding area where cars will queue for up to 90 minutes before their travel slot to capture their data.

The new staff will be needed to hand tablets to those in the cars and advise them on their use.

Tim Reardon, Dover’s head of EU exit, said: “We’re not expecting to get confirmation of the timetable until mid-August, which is one of the things that raises eyebrows.

“It doesn’t give us much time for hiring, but then we don’t want to commit funding and find that the whole thing is delayed for a year. Really we’re hoping it all goes ahead now, but the airports and road crossings have a tremendous amount of work to do.”

Mr Reardon said that the French technology is still being “finessed and refined”.

Meanwhile, Rafael Schvartzman, the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s regional head for Europe, called for a transition period to try and ‘alleviate the impact of EES’ if queues become too big.

He added: “The industry is concerned there are critical unresolved items which will require urgent and coordinated action from both the EU and member states prior to its implementation.”