Brits are being forced to miss their flights because airport is ‘struggling to cope’ with passport stamping rules
A BRIT holidaymaker was forced to miss their return flight from a Spanish airport due to delays at passport control.
The British passenger claims they missed their flight back to the UK from Lanzarote Arrecife Airport because it “was taking too long” to get through the queues.
In an Exclusive article in Olive Press, the anonymous passenger says they and 30 other holidaymakers missed their flight because of lengthy queues.
When the passenger arrived at the boarding gate, they weren’t allowed onto the plane as it had closed for further boarding.
According to the holidaymaker, Ryanair then spent 90 minutes removing the passenger’s luggage from the hold, causing the flight to be delayed.
They told the Olive Press: “Families were split up and I had to get back to Stansted for cancer treatment.
“Ryanair then had to spend an hour and a half getting luggage off of the plane. Therefore we could have boarded during that time. None of us were late to the gate.
“Disgusting behaviour by a supervisor who made the decision.”
According to the passenger, the holidaymakers who missed their flights were not given food or hotels or booked onto another service.
Passengers were instead told to make their own arrangements by the airline.
A Ryanair spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: “Due to Passport control delays at Lanzarote Airport (31 July), a number of passengers missed this flight to London Stansted.
“Should these passengers have presented at the boarding gate desk before it closed, they would have boarded this flight alongside the 140 passengers who did present at the gate on time.
“We regret that these airport passport delays at Lanzarote Airport, which are entirely out of our control, caused passengers to miss their flight.
The news comes after the airport was recently ordered to stamp Brits’ passports on both entry and departure.
It came after it emerged that it had hardly been carried out at the travel hub post-Brexit in a bid to reduce delays and long queues.
This was after anonymous sources told El Diario de Lanzarote that border control staff in César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport were “subtly and verbally” told not to stamp UK passports.
In a bid to let Brits roam more freely or “make the passage of British tourists easier”.
Disgusting behaviour by a supervisor who made the decision
The unnamed source also revealed that police lack the resources to stamp every tourist returning home.
They said it was particularly bad on Thursdays, when lots of flights leave for the UK.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Spain had called in police at Lanzarote Airport to cope with passport stamps.
The Foreign Office has advised all Brits to make sure their passports are being stamped upon exit.
However, passport stamping may soon cease to exist if the EU’s Entry Exit Scheme (EES) is introduced.
The Schengen-wide policy is hoping to be put into effect in November.
It would mean third country nationals get their passports scanned electronically, a more efficient way of tackling overstayers.
Brits would even have to have their faces scanned and fingerprints checked the first time they enter the Schengen region.
But the data will have to be renewed every three years.
What are the passport rules?
THE Sun’s Head of Travel Lisa Minot has explained exactly what Brits need to know.
“Travellers used to be able to roll over up to nine unused months from their old passport onto a new one.
“But post-Brexit, anyone wanting to travel to the EU can no longer rely on those extra months.
“In order to travel to the EU, all passports must be no more than 10 years old on the day you arrive in your European destination.
“And you’ll need at least three months on your passport on the day you head back to the UK.
“Figures have shown up to 100,000 holidaymakers a year face being turned away at airports if their passport is more than 10 years old.
“The 10-year rule only applies to countries in the European Union but every country may have different rules on what is accepted – some countries like South Africa, for example, insist you have at least six months left on your passport when you travel and a full clear page.”
These are two holiday destinations that have some of the strictest passport rules.
And nearly a million Brits are overpaying for their passports every year – here’s how to avoid the extra charge.