BRITS have been forced to miss their flights this year due to new rules across Europe.
The new Entry/Exit System (EES) which requires lengthier checks at the border have caused chaos ahead of the summer holidays.
Some families missed their flights in Milan because the queues were so long, while others in Faro and Tenerife have waited hours to get through.
But some experts have said there is a way to avoid them – if you skip landing in the “danger window”.
Travel advisor Julia cited it as a “danger window” which is when a lot of flights are landing at the same time, causing gnarled-up airports.
But if you manage to avoid landing at the peak times, you might find yourself sailing through airport security in minutes rather than hours.
So here are some of Europe’s popular airports – and when you might expect the most ESS-using passenger flights to land:
- Faro Airport, Portugal: 6am -11am (usually Mondays)
- Lisbon Airport, Portugal: 6am-8am and 4pm-7pm
- Tenerife South Airport, Spain: 4pm-8pm (usually Saturdays and Sundays)
- Barcelona-El Prat Airport, Spain: 6am-9am and 5pm-8pm
- Lanzarote Airport, Spain: 5am-8am and 4pm-7pm (usually Thursdays and Sundays)
- Milan Malpensa Airport, Italy: 6am-9am (usually Fridays and Saturdays)
- Schiphol Airport, Netherlands: 6am-10am and 12pm-3pm (usually Mondays and Fridays)
- Charles de Gaulle Airport, France: 6am-9pm, 4pm-7pm
- Athens Airport, Greece: 5am to 8am and 12pm-2pm
So when booking your flight, if you can avoid landing or departing at those time? Expect far fewer queues.
And if you can’t… make sure to bring some snacks in case you get stuck in long queues.
The Sun’s Deputy Travel Editor revealed her two top tips on how to avoid the EES queues this summer.
Spain has even been forced to launch special queues for elderly Brits and families in an attempt to ease congestion.