Travelling to Europe this summer? Prepare for long lines and delays

If you’re travelling to Europe this summer, it’s quite likely you’ll spend more time than usual waiting for your flight.

Airlines for Europe (A4E), a coalition of carriers such as British Airways, EasyJet and Air France-KLM, have issued a statement criticizing several major airports in the continent over “huge delays.”

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“Thousands of flights recently had to be delayed because EU border controls are significantly understaffed to comply with tightened immigration checks,” the group wrote in a news release.

The statement points specifically to airports in Spain, France, Italy, Belgium and Portugal. It says queues have stretched hundreds of metres, with wait times of up to four hours.

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“At some airports, flight delays have increased by 300 per cent compared to last year. Member states must take the responsibility for this,” A4E’s managing editor Thomas Reynaert said.

The group added that more stringent security and immigration checks are expected to be implemented at other European airports, which means delays could become more widespread.

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Airports in Europe have been given six months, ending in October, to enhance security following a string of terror attacks in the region. Identities of passengers from non-Schengen countries — outside Europe and the surrounding area — will be scanned in a database to assess whether they pose a threat.

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According to BBC News, this process is taking two minutes longer per passenger.

The European Commission has responded to the delays saying they are “the price of security.”

The commission’s spokeswoman, Mina Andreeva, defended the delays: “We understand that there are concerns about EU rules leading to longer waiting periods, but let us be very clear — this is about the security of our citizens.”