British holidaymakers heading to Greece will not face border delays this summer, the country’s tourism minister has told the BBC, despite continuing unease over the European Union’s new entry-exit system.
Greece’s Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni said the Greek government did not want visitors to be “burdened” by bureaucratic procedures and said checks for British travellers would take “less than a couple of minutes”. She said Greece was making efforts to avoid the kind of long queues seen elsewhere in Europe, where some passengers have reported waits of up to three hours.
The minister said British visitors would not face biometric checks at the border at any time during the summer season. Her comments come after Greece temporarily suspended biometric checks on UK visitors in early April when congestion built up at Corfu airport.
The EU completed the rollout of its controversial digital border procedure, known as the entry-exit system or EES, in April. The scheme requires short-term visitors from outside the EU and European Economic Area to register biometric data each time they enter or leave the Schengen free travel zone.
On the first crossing, travellers are meant to provide fingerprints and a facial scan, with one of those then checked each time they go through passport control. The system is designed to tighten border security, but it has already caused disruption in some airports across the bloc.
More than 100 people missed an EasyJet flight to Manchester from Milan’s Linate airport last month after being stuck in what the airline described as “unacceptable” passport queues. Other passengers due to travel with Ryanair from Milan Bergamo airport to Manchester also missed their flight because of passport control problems.
Greece said it had “successfully started the full operation of the Entry-Exit System”. Kefalogianni insisted the country was not breaching EU rules, which allow EES checks to be suspended briefly when airports become too congested, but do not permit blanket exemptions for nationals of one country.
“What we’re doing is not actually an exemption,” said Olga Kefalogianni. “It’s just that we have made sure that we facilitate the procedure in a way that means visitors are not burdened.”
The European Commission said last week that Portugal and Italy did not plan to exempt British nationals from the new checks, despite unconfirmed reports that they might follow Greece’s example. The commission said it was in contact with Greece “to clarify the situation and recall the existing rules”.
Kefalogianni also said reports of possible jet fuel shortages had made some tourists more hesitant to travel. Since the war between Israel and Iran erupted more than two months ago, jet fuel supplies from the Gulf have slowed, raising concerns for Europe, which usually relies heavily on imports from the region.
“I think that this is a trend that you would see everywhere. People are being much more reluctant,” added Kefalogianni.
She said Greece remained an attractive destination because it offered “a very good balance when it comes to price and the offering”. She added: “We already have a lot of holidaymakers in Greece right now, and we’re looking forward to welcoming even more as the season evolves.”
Last week, British holidaymakers were told by the UK government there was “no need” to change travel plans over jet fuel supply concerns, saying there was no shortage in the UK and contingency plans were in place.
The issue of border delays has become one of several pressures on European travel this summer, as airlines, airports and governments adjust to the new EU system. While Greece says it has found a way to ease the process for British visitors, the wider rollout of EES has already created confusion and long queues in some major airports.
For now, Greece is trying to present itself as an exception to the disruption, without breaking the rules of the new system. Kefalogianni said the goal was straightforward: to keep border checks moving quickly and avoid deterring visitors at the height of the holiday season.
