EU border delays force Ryanair passengers to miss flight to London

A number of Ryanair passengers missed a flight from Greece to London last week amid ongoing delays at border control across Europe.

Up to 50 passengers were unable to board the flight from Athens airport to London Luton on 14 June due to “delays caused by border control”.

Athens airport told BBC News there had been “periods of congestion at passport control in the departures area due to high passenger volumes and the additional processing requirements associated with travel to non-Schengen destinations”.

They added: “As is currently the case at many European airports, passenger flows on certain routes may experience increased processing times as new border-control procedures continue to be implemented and refined.”

The new entry-exit system (EES) requires individuals from non-EU countries, such as the UK, to have their fingerprints registered and a photograph taken upon entry to the Schengen Area, which comprises 29 European nations.

Delays and missed flight connections have already been seen in European countries, including Portugal, Spain and Italy, following the full rollout of EES in April.

Greek authorities have previously indicated that they will not collect biometric data for UK travellers as part of EES this summer, said the UK Foreign Office.

Travel journalist Milo Boyd, who managed to board the flight with just five minutes to spare, said the flight faced delays while the aircraft was cleaned and the luggage of the missing passengers was removed.

According to the airline, “all passengers that were at the boarding gate when this flight from Athens to London Luton boarded, travelled without incident”.

Ryanair said in a statement: “Due to delays caused by border control at Athens Airport on 14 June, a number of passengers booked to travel from Athens to London Luton were not in the boarding gate area when boarding for their flight closed and missed their flight from Athens to London Luton.”

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