Yvonne Moynihan urges three-hour check-in as Entry Exit System Airport Delays mount

Yvonne Moynihan has told British holidaymakers to plan for entry exit system airport delays and reach European airports three hours before their flight home. The Wizz Air UK boss said new border checks are creating long queues at some airports and have already made some passengers miss return or connecting flights.

Yvonne Moynihan’s three-hour warning

Moynihan said the usual advice is to get to the airport two hours before departure, but Wizz Air is now telling passengers to allow three hours. She said, “but in these circumstances, we are advising three hours”.

She also told travellers to prepare while they are still in the destination airport, saying, “When you land in the destination airport, there might be queues, so you should bring a portable charger or water”.

Entry Exit System at European borders

The Entry Exit System requires travellers from outside the EU to register fingerprints and other biometric information when entering many European countries, and that information is checked when they leave. Airports said queues were worsening under the system, while a European Commission spokesperson said EES was working well at almost all border crossing points.

Since October, almost 80 million entries and exits have been registered, and 35,000 refusals of entry have been recorded. From 10 April, EES is meant to be fully in use at borders of the Schengen free movement zone, including airports.

Spain, Portugal and France queues

Moynihan said the impact of the new checks was “fragmented across Europe”, with long queues at usual hotspots such as Spain, Portugal and France. She said that when she travelled to Mallorca for half term, she encountered no queues, which shows how uneven the delays have been from airport to airport.

She added that there is another passport check before flights back to the UK, saying, “Because there is another passport check...that's where we see that people have, again, experienced longer waiting times than anticipated”.

Connecting flights need extra time

Moynihan also advised anyone taking a connecting flight to leave a number of hours between flights in case border queues slow them down. Greece has effectively suspended biometric checks at its borders for British citizens in order to prevent summer disruption, which suggests some airports are trying to reduce the pressure before the busiest travel period.

For travellers, the practical change is simple: the old two-hour rule may no longer be enough at some European airports, especially if the journey home includes a second passport check or a tight connection.