{"id":892831,"date":"2026-04-14T06:21:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/892831\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T06:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:21:14","slug":"i-missed-my-flight-because-of-post-brexit-checks-easyjet-abandoned-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/892831\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I missed my flight because of post-Brexit checks \u2013 EasyJet abandoned us\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Holidaymakers have revealed the \u201ccarnage\u201d that saw more than 100 people miss their flight home to the UK after getting stuck in three-hour passport check queues<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Passengers are facing lengthy delays at airports as a result of the new post-Brexit entry\/exit system (ESS) checks<\/a>, which came fully into force on 10 April.<\/p>\n

Britons say they were \u201cabandoned\u201d at Milan airport by EasyJet after the airline\u2019s flight to Manchester left without them.<\/p>\n

Some passengers were seen vomiting and passing out as they waited on only two border control staff to process hundreds of people.<\/p>\n

The severe delays at the end of the Easter holidays has led to concerns about further travel chaos this summer.<\/p>\n

New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n

The new EES checks means travel to the Schengen area requires third-party nationals \u2013 including British citizens after Brexit \u2013 to have facial photos and fingerprints taken.<\/p>\n

However, the phased introduction of the checks in recent months has been beset by IT problems and staff shortages, leading to queues of three hours or more in some cases.<\/p>\n

Airlines and airports have warned that lengthy queues could become even more common following the full EES implementation, and have called for more flexibility for the system to be paused to avoid travel chaos for passengers.<\/p>\n

It was carnage \u2013 a lot of people were angry<\/p>\n

Joy Oliver, 55, from Lancaster, said she and her husband Phil queued for more than three hours at border control before being told that their EasyJet flight had left for Manchester.<\/p>\n

She was initially told by the airline\u2019s staff at the helpdesk, and then on the phone, that nothing could be done to help the couple get back to the UK.<\/p>\n

However, after several hours, Oliver eventually got someone on EasyJet\u2019s helpline to book them a hotel room in Milan. The airline also booked the couple on a flight to Edinburgh on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was carnage at the airport,\u201d she told The i Paper. \u201cThe queue was awful in the heat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lady being sick, and another lady lying on the floor who thought she was going to pass out,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like complete chaos from EasyJet, because they were so unhelpful. They essentially abandoned us all, and left us high and dry. A lot of people were very angry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oliver said others she spoke to spent more than \u00a31,000 on flights going elsewhere because they could not wait for EasyJet to book them a flight back to the UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why the border control queue was so bad, except there were only two people dealing with hundreds of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know whether they didn\u2019t have enough staff or the machines weren\u2019t working for the EES checks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand why EasyJet says they couldn\u2019t control that. But they have a duty of care, and they didn\u2019t look after people. People shouldn\u2019t have to work out their own way home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

@easyJet<\/a> our flight from Milan Linate took off without us due to Border Control being FAR too busy and the automated system not working. We are now stuck in Milan, missing work, spending money that we don\u2019t have and have to transfer from Gatwick to Manchester! pic.twitter.com\/XfPshK5GZK<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Miss Benn (@Emily_Benn20) April 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

EasyJet blames unacceptable EES check queues<\/p>\n

More than 100 passengers were thought to have been stranded at Milan airport, while only around 30 made it onto the flight to Manchester.<\/p>\n

One passenger, Max Hume, told the BBC that he was forced to spend \u00a31,800 of his own money to get home to the UK as soon as possible via Luxembourg. He said the whole experience was \u201cjust awful\u201d.<\/p>\n

Another passenger, Carol Boon, told the broadcaster that she had to pay for her own apartment in Milan as she waits for a flight to Gatwick on Tuesday. She claimed EasyJet staff had \u201cleft us to fend for ourselves\u201d.<\/p>\n

Easyjet has apologised to the passengers caught up in the EES queues, saying those who missed the flight were offered a free flight transfer.<\/p>\n

But the airline said the EES queues were \u201coutside of our control\u201d. It called for more flexibility over the new biometric checks to avoid \u201cunacceptable\u201d waiting times.<\/p>\n

I waited three hours 20 minutes in a queue in Poland<\/p>\n

Simon Palmer, from Windsor, told The i Paper that he got stuck in a \u201cvery frustrating\u201d queue of three hours and 20 minutes at Krakow airport on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t expect the queue for passport control to take longer than the flight. I could feel my blood sugar crashing,\u201d said Palmer, a communications expert who had flown from the UK to Poland for work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe airport didn\u2019t appear to have enough passport control desks or staff to cope,\u201d Palmer added. \u201cBut people stayed calm and accepted their fate.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said airport border control staff \u201cshould absolutely be allowed to pause the EES\u201d whenever long queues build to avoid knock-on travel chaos.<\/p>\n

\"ArrivalsNon-EU arrivals queued for three hours at Krakow airport (Photo: Simon Palmer)<\/p>\n

EU urged to suspend EES checks when queues form<\/p>\n

Both the Airports Council International (ACI) Europe and Airlines for Europe have pointed to waiting times of \u201cbetween two and three hours\u201d at airports across the Schengen area.<\/p>\n

ACI Europe director Olivier Jankovec said flexibility over the new rules \u2013 which are aimed at boosting security \u2013 was needed \u201cimmediately\u201d from EU institutions and member states, adding that it was essential to avoid disruption \u201cthroughout the peak summer travel season\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jankovec said border control authorities \u201cmust be allowed to fully suspend the EES when waiting times become excessive\u201d.<\/p>\n

Oliver Ransom, an aviation economist, said the travel disruption caused by EES checks was \u201cso bad\u201d that major changes were now needed.<\/p>\n

He suggested that one way of improving the situation was for EU member states to install EES kiosks at UK airports \u201cso people can do that part of the process before they leave\u201d.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for EasyJet said it had held the flight to Manchester \u201cfor nearly an hour to give passengers extra time but it had to then depart due to crew reaching their safety regulated operating hours\u201d.<\/p>\n

The airline urged border authorities to use any available flexibility with EES checks \u201cto avoid these unacceptable border delays for our customers\u201d.<\/p>\n

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