Several European Union airports are reported to be experiencing severe delays to airline departures due to a combination of record holiday traffic and the introduction of enhanced security checks at EU airports.

 

Some estimates suggest delays are now running into thousands of flights across Europe, with most of the problems said to be concentrated within the Schengen area where passengers from outside the so-called ‘passport free zone’ face one-on-one additional passport and terrorist watch-list identity checks at the border control points.

 

SECURITY CHECKS ARE THE CAUSE OF DELAYS

These have been introduced in a major security crack down to check all non-European passport holder names against revised databases containing names of individuals with suspected of terrorist sympathies or activities.

 

Just to compound the problem, there is also a Europe-wide shortage of border control staff available to handle these extra duties which are said to involve two to three minutes extra scrutiny of passengers’ passports against the aforementioned terror lists at external borders.

 

Some airports are already reporting delays of up to three to four hours at some airports, including Milan, Palma de Mallorca, Madrid, Lisbon, Lyon, Milan, Paris-Orly and others.

 

At the same time, the European Commission has defended the increased security checks and reminded critics that this is all about protecting passengers and a direct response to requests from EU member states for more stringent checks.

 

PEAK SEASON DISRUPTION COULD LAST MONTHS

“Especially during the peak season of the year, travellers face long lines and can’t get on their flights,” commented Thomas Reynaert, Managing Director of Airlines for Europe (A4E).

 

This associations member airlines carry more than 500m passengers a year and account for nearly two thirds of all European passenger journeys.

 

[The A4E membership includes easyJet and Ryanair who carry more passengers within Europe than any other carriers-Ed].

 

In a statement, Reynaert added: “Queuing for up to four hours has been the top record these days; airports like Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, Lisbon, Lyon, Paris-Orly, Milan or Brussels are producing shameful pictures of devastated passengers in front of immigration booths, in lines stretching hundreds of metres.”

 

As A4E also commented, these queues may be here to stay for the time being and especially considering that the new security system at European airports has only just began operating and is scheduled to run through to October.