{"id":61791,"date":"2026-06-05T19:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/61791\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T19:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:54:09","slug":"miss-a-flight-because-of-europes-new-border-system-heres-what-happens-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/61791\/","title":{"rendered":"Miss a flight because of Europe\u2019s new border system? Here\u2019s what happens next"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many\u00a0travellers\u00a0this summer, long\u00a0lineups at European airports could stand between\u00a0them\u00a0and that first ice-cold Aperol spritz on a sunny terrace.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spending hours waiting to clear customs\u00a0after a flight\u00a0can put a damper on the excitement of finally arriving at your destination. But with the\u00a0implementation of the\u00a0European Union\u2019s biometric Entry\/Exit System (EES)<\/a>,\u00a0this is an unfortunate\u00a0reality for\u00a0many\u00a0vacationers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The system, which\u00a0replaces\u00a0manual passport stamping with biometric registration for non-EU visitors, was created to streamline travel and fortify border security.\u00a0However, until\u00a0this new process is running smoothly,\u00a0visitors are being warned to expect longer waits\u00a0\u2014\u00a0sometimes\u00a0reported\u00a0up to six hours\u00a0\u2014\u00a0at border checkpoints due to queues and delays.\u00a0This impact may be most noticeable at airports in the most popular European hot spots such as Portugal,\u00a0France\u00a0and Italy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While spending an extra\u00a0couple of hours\u00a0in line\u00a0upon arrival at your destination\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0the end of the\u00a0world,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a different story for those rushing to make their connecting flight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What if\u00a0this happens to you?\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0answer depends on where\u00a0the disruption occurs\u00a0on your journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example, a traveller is flying to Barcelona and then connecting to another city in the Schengen Zone, the European countries with common entry and exit requirements. If they miss their flight due to long wait times at customs, the airline would generally be responsible for rebooking them on the next available flight at no additional cost, explains Gabor Lukacs, air passenger rights advocate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s\u00a0because the missed connection occurred during a journey covered by the airline\u2019s\u00a0contract of carriage<\/a>,\u00a0the\u00a0binding agreement between an airline and a passenger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But a rebooked connecting flight is all a\u00a0traveller\u00a0from Canada\u00a0should expect.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder Canada\u2019s\u00a0Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), such delays would be deemed to be outside the carrier\u2019s control,\u00a0so no meals or accommodation would be owed, and certainly no standardized compensation,\u201d\u00a0says\u00a0Lukacs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The same goes for travelling back to Canada from Europe. If a traveller arrives at the airport at the recommended number of hours before their flight but still misses it due to long wait times, the airline should rebook you. But they may not do it for free.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRealistically, the airline may well refuse to pay for starters,\u201d shares Lukacs. \u201cIf this should occur, the passenger should present a demand to the\u00a0airline and\u00a0then contact the National Enforcement Body of the state where the delay occurred and\/or consider suing the airline in small claims court to enforce the passenger\u2019s right to compensation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also emphasizes that only airline cutoff times matter,\u00a0not the \u201crecommended\u201d arrival windows.\u00a0Travellers\u00a0who miss those hard deadlines can be treated as\u00a0no-shows\u00a0and even denied boarding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plan ahead\u00a0<\/p>\n

Preparation is key when it comes to planning your European summer getaway.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Consider packing\u00a0all\u00a0your items in a carry-on to avoid\u00a0spending too much time at the luggage drop before going through security and then again at the baggage claim upon arrival.\u00a0While it may make the packing process more stressful,\u00a0travelling with only a carry-on can help\u00a0travellers\u00a0more quickly through the\u00a0stations at an\u00a0airport.\u00a0This could\u00a0make\u00a0a\u00a0significant\u00a0difference when\u00a0queues are\u00a0long\u00a0or\u00a0a connecting flight is involved.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He also recommends avoiding booking overly tight connections, particularly when travelling between Schengen destinations where border delays have been occurring. Longer layovers, though not everyone\u2019s favourite, could reduce the chance of missing a connection due to airport lines. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Strategically\u00a0planning\u00a0your travel days with adequate buffer time for airport delays can\u00a0ensure you get to\u00a0enjoy your\u00a0vacation\u00a0without any disruptions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For many\u00a0travellers\u00a0this summer, long\u00a0lineups at European airports could stand between\u00a0them\u00a0and that first ice-cold Aperol spritz on a sunny…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35441,35440,4,8592],"class_list":["post-61791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-europe","tag-border-checkpoints","tag-connecting-flight","tag-europe","tag-european-airports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}