BBC Breakfast

Simon Calder described the EU’s Entry Exit System (EES) as ‘passport roulette’

A leading travel journalist has suggested the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) could be put on hold for the entire summer following reports of chaos and significant delays at airports. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Simon Calder – who has branded the system ‘passport roulette’ – acknowledged that while some locations had performed ‘really well’, others were ‘struggling’.

EES is an automated system gradually replacing the traditional passport stamp. It requires people from third-party nations such as the UK to have their fingerprints registered and photograph captured before entering the Schengen Area, which encompasses 29 European countries, predominantly within the EU.

For the majority of UK travellers, the procedure takes place at foreign airports. The system saw a soft launch in October 2025 and was meant to be fully operational across all borders by April 10, 2026.

Yet there have been numerous accounts of passengers missing flights and enduring lengthy queues at airports as systems buckle under the sheer volume of people attempting to register. Several countries have suspended EES at various points, with Greece postponing the system for UK travellers over the summer to enhance the travel experience.

Portugal has halted EES for extended stretches to ease travel to and from the country, with speculation mounting that Italy may do likewise. Mr Calder indicated it was not beyond the realms of possibility. “It was always going to be really exciting to see what happens when you roll out a digital borders scheme and you ask 29 national governments to implement it,” Mr Calder said. “They have all gone their own way.

“Some of them have done it really well. Others, well, they are still struggling and we might find that, actually, the whole scheme gets put on a sort of hold for the rest of the summer.

“That’s certainly what a lot of airlines and train operators would like, not to mention the Port of Dover, where they haven’t even started taking biometrics from motorists yet.”

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What’s the problem?

Headlines were made in April 2026 when passengers travelling with both Ryanair and easyJet missed their flights from separate Milan airports owing to EES complications. Footage from one incident revealed a crowd gathering at Milan Bergamo, with exasperated passengers informing staff they had been held at the gate for over an hour, demanding to know what action to take.

It’s understood that approximately 30 passengers were left behind. Ryanair said in a statement: “Due to passport control delays at Milan Bergamo Airport on 16 April, a number of passengers missed this flight from Milan to Manchester.” One passenger claimed they were kept waiting until the aircraft had departed, only to then be informed they would need to arrange their own return flights. A number of travellers on a Ryanair service from Tenerife South to East Midlands on 10 April also missed their homeward journey, once again blaming hold-ups at passport control.

Ryanair recently issued a blistering statement on social media, demanding the EES rollout be postponed until September. The low-cost carrier tore into France, Portugal, Poland, Italy, Spain, and Germany for their failure to ‘ensure that adequate staffing, system readiness, or kiosks are in place’.

Branding the system as ‘half-baked’, the Ryanair statement said: “Despite knowing for over three years that EES would become fully operational from 10 April 2026, France, Portugal, Poland, Italy, Spain, and Germany have failed to ensure that adequate staffing, system readiness, or kiosks are in place.

“As a result, passengers are suffering long passport control queues and, in some cases, missing their flights.

“Ryanair calls on these EU Governments to suspend the rollout of the EU’s passport control Entry/Exit System (EES) until September to ensure that passengers are not needlessly forced to suffer long passport control queue delays at European airports during the peak summer season.”

Luxmy Gopal and Roger Johnson brought viewers up to speed with the latest news on BBC Breakfast

BBC Breakfast hosts issued a devastating breaking news announcement live on air.

During Sunday’s (May 3) episode of the popular morning show, Luxmy Gopal and Roger Johnson brought viewers up to speed with the latest news from across Britain and internationally.

They were joined in the studio by Elizabeth Rizzini , who provided regular weather updates, whilst Olly Foster covered the sports news.

However towards the end of the show, Luxmy made the tragic announcement following the news that two migrants have died after a boat sank in the Channel while attempting to cross over to the UK overnight.

Speaking to viewers at home, Luxmy revealed: “Some breaking news to bring you. Reports have just come through in the past few minutes that two people have died off the coast of northern France after a boat carrying migrants came into difficulty overnight.”

Co-host Roger continued: “Lets go live to our reporter Simon Jones, who has got the latest on this for us. Simon what more do we know about what happened.”

The show then cut over to Simon, who appeared on the breakfast show via video link and updated viewers on the devastating news.

A huge rescue operation was launched in the early hours, after a migrant dinghy carrying 65 people got into difficulties off Hardelot beach, south of Boulogne.

French authorities have confirmed two female migrants died in the incident involving a so-called taxi boat, as dozens of people tried to scramble on board.

Authorities say a second migrant boat nearby continued on its journey to the UK, as the incident unfolded around 3am.

It is believed that there were 82 people packed on the boat that “ran aground” on a beach at Neufchatel-Hardelot, about 12 kilometers (seven miles) south of the port of Boulogne, said Christophe Marx, a regional government official.

It comes as at least eight people have now died this year on small boats trying to make the risky trip across the English Channel to the southern coast of the UK.

Last month, Britain and France signed a new three-year deal on security operations to stop the crossings.

France will increase the number of police and gendarmes patrolling the coast while the British government will increase its contribution to the cost, according to an AFP tally based on official French and British sources.

BBC Breakfast airs daily from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer

Carol Kirkwood’s career away from the cameras took her BBC co-star by surprise, following her recent exit from the corporation after 28 years

Carol Kirkwood has left her BBC co-star stunned by her career away from television. The former BBC Breakfast weather presenter bid farewell to the programme in April after 28 years at the corporation.

In a lengthy on-air statement at the time, the 63-year-old said: “Thank you for trusting me, be it telling you about heatwaves or snow, to the everyday question of, ‘Do I need to take a brolly?’. To my colleagues past and present, both in front and behind the camera, I owe you all so much. You’ve been my team, my safety net, and, very often, my family.

“We’ve shared breaking news, long shifts, plenty of laughter, bad hair days, and the occasional moment of pure chaos. And do you know what? I wouldn’t change a second of it.”

While she is best known for presenting the weather, Carol has also turned her hand to writing in recent years – much to the surprise of Carol Klein.

The Gardeners’ World host appeared taken aback when learning about Carol’s other career during an appearance on the Pottering with Tom Allen podcast.

After discussing the changing weather during the recording, she said: “That Carol Kirkwood, she’s lovely isn’t she, she’s a keen gardener.”

“She’s a great writer as well,” Tom chimed in, to which she appeared stun and questioned: “Is she?”. Tom went on to say: “She’s got a lot of novels out.”

“I haven’t read anything, I’ll have to,” the BBC star replied. Praising the books, Tom insisted they are a good read and “always set in lovely places”.

Recently speaking about her future after leaving the show, the weather presenter said she is looking forward to more freedom with her husband Steve Randall, who she married in 2023.

“The freedom of being able to get in the car, drive and go anywhere we want for as long as we want is really appealing,” she told the BBC.

She also revealed there was a more personal reason behind her decision. “I’m not getting any younger, I’m newly married and we’ve had some losses in our lives recently,” Carol added.

She went on to say those experiences had helped her realise that she needed to “get on with my retirement and that’s what I’m going to do”.

However, retirement doesn’t mean she’s stopped working altogether. Her sixth romance novel is set to be published in October, and she has reportedly already committed to writing at least two more books afterwards.

The television star has also said she would love to learn the guitar and adopt a couple of cats.

BBC Breakfast airs daily from around 6am on BBC One and the BBC News channel.

The star of one of the best British crime dramas has left the door open for its return.

The star of a BBC crime drama that has been hailed as a “masterpiece” by fans has hinted at its return.

Adrian Lester starred alongside Robert Glenister and Robert Vaughn in Hustle, which first aired in 2004 and ran for eight series until 2012.

The beloved show followed a group of con artists specialising in ‘long cons’, high-risk, high-reward activities of deceptive fraud.

While they were con artists themselves, the group, led by Adrian’s character Mickey ‘Bricks’ Stone, targeted greedy, amoral and undeserving individuals, with each episode featuring one complex scam that would reveal itself at the end.

The BBC originally teased: “Hustle will take you into a world with a whole new set of rules, where the good guys can be very bad and you can’t always trust what’s right before your eyes . . .

“An action-packed blend of humour and intrigue, Hustle follows the fortunes of a gang of five expert con artists let loose on the streets of London.

“They are specialists in the ways of the grifter and all are keen to liberate cash from the amoral and undeserving.”

Fans were left devastated when the series came to an end, but Adrian has now left the door open for its return.

During an appearance on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday 29 April, the star spoke about his new West End production, before referring to his widely-praised role.

He told hosts Sarah Campbell and Ben Thompson, when asked if there was any chance Hustle would come back: “There’s always conversations about it possibly coming back.

“It’s something that’s been really well-loved by the public, and it was a great success for the BBC, and we are ever hopeful that it might come back on our screens.”

This comes after the cast of Hustle previously hinted at its comeback in 2023, sending fans wild with a snap of their reunion.

Matt Di Angelo shared a snap alongside the cast including Adrian and Kelly Adams, writing: “We’rrrrreeeee Baaaccckkkk.”

Fans were left delighted, with one writing: “Shut up!!!!!!!!! Oh my god I’m sooooo excited!!” as another said: “Remember you can’t con an honest man so this has best be true.”

His post came despite the cast insisting in 2012 that Hustle “couldn’t be brought back” in the future.

Kelly told the BBC: “We were contracted to be in it for three years, which was supposed to end last year, but the ratings were the highest they’ve ever been.

“So they [the producers] said ‘Shall we just do one more and finish it properly with a fantastic leading storyline so it can’t come back?’ and we said, ‘Yes.'”

Describing the ending, Matt added: “It’s really bizarre. None of us saw it coming.”

Viewers have branded Hustle “TV gold”, with one fan calling it a “masterpiece”, adding: “The Brits have a classic on their hands with this one.”

Another said: “From the marvellous, absolutely thrilling opening title sequence to the vintage splitscreen shots and cliché montage tricks, this is an incredible breath of fresh air from the BBC.”

Yet another echoed: “This is quite simply the best British television programme that I have seen grace our screens,” while someone else added: “It’s probably the best crime drama I’ve ever seen.”

Hustle is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.