British holidaymakers to face ‘European frontier roulette’ with summer getaway delays, warns travel expert

British holidaymakers have been warned they could face “European frontier roulette” this summer as border queues vary dramatically depending on where they travel.

Travel expert Simon Calder told GB News that the ongoing and deeply troubled rollout of the European Union’s new border entry and exit scheme was leading to holdups across the continent.

Speaking from Croatia, he warned that the experience of delays affecting Britons travelling by air would depend entirely on the airport they landed at.

“Most travellers are going to be flying away, and therefore they will be playing European frontier roulette wherever they happen to touch down,” he warned.

TRENDING

Stories

Videos

Your Say

He recalled reporting from Dover during the half-term getaway, where some passengers were left waiting for “three or four hours” to clear French border checks.

Those brutal delays had been caused by “French IT problems” stemming from the implementation of the entry/exit scheme.

Under the new policy, travellers' biometrics are checked on the first crossing of a Schengen Area frontier.

However, technical delays and unwillingness to adopt from nations with vital tourist sectors across the continent have sparked huge holdups.

Mr Calder warned that the situation remained particularly difficult at the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone.

“There are long delays at check-in for the Eurotunnel shuttle across to Calais.

“The Port of Dover, like the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone and Eurostar, all have French border police who are actually doing the work, checking people's passports.

"There's accounts that there's a bit of a shortage of capacity there, so people are facing initially waits to check in and then they're facing the French borders."

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• Andy Burnham set to announce plans for new North Sea oil and gas drilling in blow to Ed Miliband
• Liz Truss insists she is ‘Britain’s number one fighter against the blob’ when challenged on gender
• Inside Clacton: GB News explores the town the elite wrote off and Nigel Farage's battle to win again

"The Government here says they've been talking to the French Government and they've got assurances that they've got extra staff coming in and keeping things to a kind of manageable length," he added.

Amid fears of delays, Mr Calder pointed out that popular destination Greece remains one of the easiest destinations for British travellers because it has opted not to introduce biometric border checks immediately.

“They have said we are not going to be doing any of that biometric stuff,” he explained.

“You won't have to have your fingerprints taken when you go into Greece. You won't need a facial biometric.

“They just want to check your passport, and you're in,” he assured.

Recalling his own recent trip, the travel expert added: “I flew out to Mykonos. It took me two minutes to get through passport control.”

Mr Calder said Cyprus, which remains outside the Schengen Area, as well as Ireland and Turkey, is also likely to offer smoother journeys for British holidaymakers hoping to avoid potential disruption this summer.

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter