Travel expert Simon Calder, who often appears on Good Morning Britain, has issued a stark warning to those planning a holiday in Europe. As the current year draws to a close, holidaymakers will be looking to plot their next journey for 2023. However, people are being made aware of some possible snags in their travels.
Simon explained in the Independent how some travellers looking to head to EU countries next summer could be hit with lengthy delays. He said: "Frontier checks for British travellers to Europe next summer could take 4x longer than now. The UK asked to be treated as a 'third country' after Brexit so subject to the fingerprinting and face biometric checks of the new Entry Exit System."
Coming into effect next May, the tougher border checks are part of the Entry Exit System. Simon added: "From next summer, each time a third-country national crosses an EU external border, fingerprints and a facial biometric must be checked."
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The UK helped developed the system when it was part of the European Union and asked to be subjected to the additional checks as part of the Brexit withdrawal treaty. The Independent analysed the findings from a number of European governments after they modelled the effects of EES, who confirmed the tougher checks could cause longer waits for UK travellers.
The EES will form a part of the new Etias scheme, which is an online "eurovisa" that will cost £6 and require pre-registration. A UK government spokesperson said: “The European Union is introducing the Entry and Exit System to help to protect and strengthen the security of their external border by registering the entry, exit and any refused entries of third-country citizens crossing into Europe.
"It is the responsibility of the EU Member States to implement these checks. We are working closely with port authorities, operators and the French government to make sure passengers are prepared and do not experience unnecessary delays at the border due to new entry and exit system checks being introduced next year."
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