Ryanair flight takes off without 150 passengers as panicked flyers 'scrummage' amid EU border chaos

A Ryanair flight took off without 150 of its passengers as panic and a "scrummage" erupted at border control.

Would-be flyers in Toulouse failed to reach their gate in time to make their flight to London after lengthy waits in border control.

One woman described the situation within the airport as "pure chaos" the day of the May 30 flight.

She estimated there were as many as 500 people in line for border control, and no clear organisation or separation between flights.

She told French paper The Connexion: "You didn't join a queue, because there was no queue to join.

"There was just a scrummage of people."

Passengers with young children and vulnerable travellers were caught in the crowd, and the passenger noted there was no system to separate the passengers as they arrived at the same time.

While there were members of staff in the area, the passenger noted there seemed to be little coordination to deal with the airport crowd.

One member of staff attempting to organise the queue could not be heard, the passenger said.

She said she was able to reach her gate and board her flight just as it was closing, with a handful of passengers behind her.

After she was on the plane, the pilot announced 150 people had not been able to board Flight FR282, she added.

She said she did not blame Ryanair for the disruption, noting that the airline seemed to keep the gate open as long as possible.

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A statement from Ryanair said: "The claim that Ryanair left passengers behind in Toulouse is false.

"Due to delays caused by border control staff shortages at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport on 30 May, a number of passengers booked to travel from Toulouse to London Stansted were not in the boarding gate area when boarding for their flight closed and missed their flight from Toulouse to London Stansted.

"All passengers that were at the boarding gate when this flight from Toulouse to London Stansted boarded were accommodated and travelled without incident."

Ryanair noted that passengers who miss their flight due to border control delays are not entitled to compensation.

It follows a growing list of EU border shenanigans since the widespread rollout of the Entry/Exit System (EES) on April 10, which requires UK travellers to register biometric details including fingerprints and facial recognition images upon entry to the Schengen Area.

Last week, Wizz Air boss Yvonne Moynihan instructed Britons visiting the EU to arrive up to three hours before their flights are set to depart.

Shortly after the implementation of the EES, around 100 easyJet passengers bound for Manchester were unable to board their flight.

One passenger said everyone was panicking and left frustrated as a result of the new travel checks.

Greece has suspended the travel system for British tourists in order to ease queues.

Portugal and Italy had considered following in the Mediterranean country's footsteps, but eventually decided to keep the EES system.

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