The British tourist industry has long voiced its concerns about the new EU entry and exit scheme and now there are fears that UK travellers risk being stuck on planes after arriving at European Union (EU) airports such as Mallorca once new border checks have been introduced, according to the boss of easyJet, who has a house and a share in a business on the island.
Chief executive Johan Lundgren said airlines being unable to disembark passengers because of congested terminal buildings is a “worst case” consequence of the Entry/Exit System (EES). The EU Commission announced in August that EES would be launched on November 10, although a further update is expected to be made tomorrow, Thursday.
Under EES, travellers from non-EU countries such as the UK will need to have their fingerprints scanned and a photograph taken to register them on a database when they enter a member state, with the data stored for three years. In an interview at the annual convention of travel trade organisation Abta Lundgren said it is possible EES will cause airport terminals to be congested with arriving passengers waiting to be processed, leaving no room for additional travellers.
“In the worst case you actually can’t disembark, you hold people on the plane,” Lundgren warned. He said: “We have to think about what can actually happen.” Lundgren predicted “there will be some disruption” from EES as “it is a new procedure”. He called for the launch to be further delayed unless it is possible for travellers to pre-register before beginning their journeys.