MORE Brits are facing problems at the border in Europe, with many being stopped and facing even longer queues – and it could affect thousands.
The new Entry/Exit System (EES), which requires biometric checks from Brits, has been in place since April.
But a new report from The Telegraph has found that those with ‘faded fingerprints’ are being rejected by the machines – a problem associated with older passengers.
One 80-year-old woman told the publication how EES failed to recognise her fingerprints on a trip to Palma in Majorca.
Angela Evans said: “I tried several times, on different machines and with assistance from a member of staff, but to no avail. My fingerprints would not register.
“I suspect this is because of my age – 80 – and that my fingers are probably worn smooth and not ‘ridgy’ enough to record.”
Another holidaymaker, Barbara, struggled to register her fingerprints at Salzburg Airport.
After holding up a “long line of passengers”, Barbara said she discovered she has “no fingerprints”.
Both women had to then see a member of airport staff and queue to have their passports manually stamped.
Another older couple couldn’t get through the EES gates at Naples Airport and had to join a queue that was so long it went outside the terminal.
After waiting for two hours and missing their transfer pick up, the couple were seen by a member of staff but said they were “put off flying” as a result.
While fingerprints don’t technically ‘fade’, they do change as skin loses its elasticity with age.
The surface is then less defined and harder for digital scanners to read.
It’s not the first issue to come with the introduction of EES.
One woman who is an identical twin faced a problem when she was mistaken for her sister.
In some cases, Brits have been left in queues of up to six hours while waiting to register with EES.
Some holidaymakers have even missed their flight because of delays at passport control.