Arrive three hours before your flight home and bring water and phone charger to help you survive queues, Wizz Air boss tells British passengers as new EU border checks cause chaos

By ELIZABETH HAIGH, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 10:04, 30 May 2026 | Updated: 10:06, 30 May 2026 British holidaymakers have been told to arrive at European airports three hours before their flight home amid queue chaos caused by new EU border checks. Wizz Air boss Yvonne Moynihan told Brits they should allow more time than usual ahead of their flights, as well as several hours for connections, bring water with them and charge their phones. Airports across Europe have reported long queues and passengers missing flights after the introduction of the European Union's new digital Entry/Exit System (EES). While first introduced in October last year, the new checks - which involve a facial scan and fingerprints - were meant to become fully operational at all European border points from April 10. It requires most short-term visitors from outside the EU and European Economic Area to register biometric data each time they enter or leave the Schengen free travel zone. But the rollout of the system has caused long queues at airports over the last few weeks and sparked warnings that delays could worsen over the summer holiday period. Ms Moynihan says her airline is advising British travellers to allow an extra hour on top of the already-advised arrival time of two hours early. She told the BBC that while many places have 'seamless' travel, there have been lengthy delays around popular holiday hotspots. Wizz Air boss Yvonne Moynihan told Brits they should allow more time than usual ahead of their flights, as well as several hours for connections, bring water with them and charge their phones While first introduced in October last year, the new checks - which involve a facial scan and fingerprints - was meant to become fully operational at all European border points from April 10 (Pictured: British holidaymakers queue at Ibiza airport on May 16) 'When you land in the destination airport, there might be queues, so you should bring a portable charger or water,' she said. Ms Moynihan said this advice also applies to Brits' flights home, as biometric data must also be validated as holidaymakers leave the EU.  In April, Airports Council International said the latest data collected from airports across Europe shows a 'continued deterioration in waiting times at border crossing points' where EES has been introduced. Delays are 'regularly reaching up to two hours at peak traffic times, with some airports reporting even longer queues', it added. It found some airports were seeing Brits wait as long as three-and-a-half hours, and said it expects things to 'deteriorate further' as the summer approaches.  The trade body previously warned that hubs in Germany, France, Iceland, Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal were particularly impacted. Since then, Greece has already dumped new Entry/Exit System (EES) rules until September for UK holidaymakers after they led to huge queues and delays. Portugal is already waving passengers through if queues get too big, and along with Italy is expected to follow Greece ahead of the May half-term in allowing tourists to enter on a passport stamp.  And just last week French officials in Dover paused EES checks as thousands of Brits made their way to the continent over the bank holiday weekend. The European Commission has insisted that the system is working well at 'almost all border crossing points', and that it is up to individual countries to ensure the system is functioning efficiently. To tackle the issue, some states are increasing staff levels, with Portugal announcing that 360 more border officers will be deployed in its airports from July.  Ms Moynihan still fears matters will worsen over the summer and is calling for more states to suspend the rules over peak periods. But she added that a recent trip to Mallorca in half-term saw her encounter no queues for the new checks and a 'significant amount' of available self-service kiosks.  It comes after the boss of Ryanair accused the EU of punishing British holidaymakers over Brexit with the new checks. Chief executive Michael O'Leary said there had been 'significant disruption' at passport control since the new system was first introduced, and called it a 'shambles'. The European Commission has said that it will allow biometric registration to be suspended 'at specific border crossing points and for a limited amount of time in cases of exceptional circumstances that lead to excessive waiting times' until September.  The Association of British Travel Agents has advised tourists to use the EES app, which allows them to register biometric data in advance.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. 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