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Airline queues ‘longer than flights’ at some destinations
Tourists are waiting up to four hours to fly back to the UK from some European airports, meaning they are queuing for longer than their flight, according to reports.
Images of huge queues at passport controls across Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Holland have been doing the rounds on social media.
Last week, TravelMole reported Airlines For Europe had described ‘shameful scenes’ of huge queues at airports.
A4E spokesman Aage Dünhaupt is now urging the European Commission to ‘use its influence on member states to ensure adequate staffing’.
He added: "This is ruining the start and end of people’s vacations as they are forced to queue for hours. It is also means that there is a high risk people will miss their flights."
Duenhaupt warned delays of up to two hours with 200,000 passengers arriving in and departing from Majorca.
He said passengers have complained of three-four hour delays in Amsterdam.
"Unless Spanish border control puts in place an emergency plan to avoid queues and help passengers to get through faster, there will be a lot of devastating delays for passengers," he said.
Thousands of flights have already been delayed because of tighter checks at EU airports on passengers from countries outside the 26-nation Schengen border-free zone, which includes Britain.
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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