The country’s tourism minister has announced that travellers to Greece won’t have to deal with possibly protracted delays due to increased security checks this summer.
Some airports are experiencing chaos due to a new EU biometric border check system, which has resulted in angry travellers missing flights.
However, Olga Kefalogianni has recently stated that visitors from the UK won’t be “burdened” by the bureaucratic processes when they come or go during the hectic summer months.
“We really want our travellers to have the best experience and we understand that any inconvenience getting into Greece or exiting would cause frustration,” she added, adding that steps were being taken to ensure border checks would take “less than a couple of minutes.”
“We really don’t want anyone to have to deal with a lot of bureaucracy, so we’ve been able to make the system easier so that British citizens don’t have to deal with it, especially at airports.”
“So, it’s just a very simple way to enter and leave the country.”
At the “beginning of the season, we faced some delays in the whole process at the airports,” Ms. Kefalogianni said.
The country’s tourism minister has assured that British visitors to Greece won’t have to deal with possibly protracted delays due to enhanced security checks this summer (pictured: Lisbon 2025).
Last month, over 100 passengers were unable to board an EasyJet flight from Milan’s Linate airport to Manchester; the airline condemned the “unacceptable” delays.
When non-EU travellers enter or exit the Schengen area, they must register their biometric information. The system was originally implemented in October of last year and was scheduled to go fully operational on April 10.
Long lines have resulted from this process, which includes fingerprint scans and facial recognition checks the first time they pass through border control and one of those checks on future crossings.
Last month, almost 100 passengers missed an EasyJet aircraft from Milan’s Linate airport to Manchester; the airline criticised the “unacceptable” delays.
Similar issues prevented passengers from arriving at their seats in time on a Ryanair aircraft to Manchester from Milan Bergamo airport.
In the event of airport congestion, EU regulations allows the temporary suspension of “entry-exit system” or EES checks; but, general exemptions for people of a specific nation are prohibited.
Following protracted delays at the Corfu airport, Greece banned biometric checks for British nationals back in April. However, Ms. Kefalogianni maintained that this did not violate the regulations, saying, “What we’re doing is not actually an exemption.” Simply put, we have ensured that the process is facilitated in a manner that does not burden tourists,” she continued.
According to the EU, it has been communicating with Greece in order to “clarify the situation.”
“Presumably, the Commission has other fish to fry right now, but I assume they will not let one EU country making exceptions for the citizens of a non-EU country last for more than one season,” data scientist Dr. Nick Brown, who has studied the EU legislation, told the Independent.
Nearly five million British tourists visited Greece’s mainland and islands last year, up 7% from the previous year, making them a significant source of revenue.
While Portugal has returned to regular passport checks at Lisbon, Porto, and Faro, Italy and Portugal announced last week that they would not halt digital checks for Britons.
