150 Ryanair passengers left stranded in France after border control chaos sees them miss flight
150 Ryanair flyers were left behind after missing a flight from Toulouse to London Stansted because of long queues at border control.
Passengers over the weekend were unable to reach their gate on time following severe congestion, preventing many from reaching their gate in time.
One passenger travelling with their children said the scenes at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport were 'pure chaos', as a lack of staff meant that between 400 and 500 people were stuck in the area.
She told The Connexion that she barely made her flight after queuing for some 60 to 70 minutes.
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Several flights appeared to be boarding at the same time, the woman said, with services to Marrakech, Tunisia and two flights to London, which contributed to the delays.
"There was no structure at the airport. There were people pushing at all times," she said, whilst not blaming Ryanair for the delays.
"You didn't join a queue, because there was no queue to join. There was just a scrummage of people."
A Ryanair spokesperson told LADbible: “Due to delays caused by border control staff shortages at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport on 30 May, a number of passengers booked to travel from Toulouse to London Stansted were not in the boarding gate area when boarding for their flight closed and missed their flight from Toulouse to London Stansted.
“All passengers that were at the boarding gate when this flight from Toulouse to London Stansted boarded were accommodated and travelled without incident.”
The airline said claims that passengers had been left behind in Toulouse 'were false'.
LADbible Group has contacted Toulouse-Blagnac Airport for comment.
What is the Entry Exit System (EES)?
The new Entry Exit System (EES) has been the root cause of the long queues at border control, with airlines advising passengers to arrive at the airport three hours early at the very minimum.
EES replaces the need for manual passport stamps for most non-EU visitors who cross the external borders of 29 European countries during a short stay.
It electronically records passport details, fingerprints and a facial image each time someone enters and leaves the Schengen Area.
Whilst it's being installed, however, many airports still do manual passport checks alongside the DIY electronic system.
Andrew Knight, who runs Sanasty Car Hire at Tenerife airport, told the BBC that some passengers get through 'in about 20 minutes', while 'other people are experiencing one and a half, two-hour delays waiting to use the systems'.
Knight said that even 'a few times the systems have gone down', calling it 'hit and miss'.
Countries using the EES system
The following 25 EU countries in the Schengen Area, and four other nations not part of the EU, will use the EES:
• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
Anish Vij