Lib Dems call for immediate suspension of EU Entry/Exit System to prevent summer holiday chaos

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

During a press conference at Heathrow Airport today, the Liberal Democrats called on the Prime Minister to urgently negotiate with European countries to suspend the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) for the summer holidays. This follows reports of long queues and significant wait times developing  at border points across the continent, already causing severe disruption for British families and travellers.

Since the system’s initial rollout, thousands of Brits have faced snaking queues, technical failures, and missed flights. With a further 7 million visits by UK citizens expected to Europe in August, the party warns that the situation will drastically worsen without immediate intervention.

The call for a pause comes amid growing international concern over the system’s implementation. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called for a suspension until next summer to allow technical issues to be resolved, while major EU holiday destinations -  including France, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Portugal - have all raised concerns and requested  more flexible provisions to manage border bottlenecks.

Suspending the EES over peak summer weeks would buy vital time for the European Commission to resolve technical glitches and expand processing capacity, protecting both holidaymakers and UK hauliers.

Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Calum Miller MP, said:

"Snaking queues, faulty tech, and missed flights home - that has been the experience for thousands of Brits trying to travel to Europe, and it’s only going to get worse as we head into peak summer holidays.

"Holiday-makers and hauliers should not be punished by a bungled, malfunctioning border system that is completely out of their control. Andy Burnham needs to pick up the phone to each and every European leader - and persuade them, collectively, to suspend EES until at least September.

“This is another symptom of the damage caused by the Conservatives’ botched Brexit deal, backed by Nigel Farage. By ending freedom of movement, they chose to put up barriers for Britons wanting to travel to and work in Europe. Their disastrous deal is now putting millions of Britons at risk of having their holidays ruined by this broken EU border system.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Calum Miller’s full remarks below:

[Check against delivery]

Introduction

Good morning everyone - and thank you for joining me at Heathrow early on a Friday.

Over the next few weeks, millions of Britons will board planes, trains and ferries across the country, heading off for a well-deserved summer holiday. 

For many, especially at a tough time, that summer holiday is the one time in the year they can properly unwind.

It’s their time to reconnect with family, or discover new places.

Many folk will have worked hard - and foregone other spending - through the year to save for this break.

So when it finally comes, it should not be just another cause of stress and anxiety. 

But that’s exactly what many trips to Europe are becoming.

EES disruption

Snaking queues; faulty tech; missed flights home.

For too many Brits, that’s become the story of their holiday to Europe.

The EU’s Entry/Exit System - pitched as a sleek, modern, digital border - has turned into a nightmare for thousands of travellers.

Last year, our former PM Keir Starmer announced - with much fanfare - that Britons would soon be able to “sail through” e-gates at European ports.

Instead, waiting times have tripled - while hundreds have seen planes leave without them as they are stuck in hours-long queues.

Individual stories

And these aren’t, of course, just statistics. Behind each of them is a story: of a British traveller stuck in transit; of parents with small children left stranded abroad.

I recently read about Georgia, from London, who travelled to Italy in April.

At five-months pregnant, Georgia had to wait in a four-hour queue at the arrivals terminal in Pisa.

During what must have felt like an ordeal, Georgia had to spend most of that time sitting on the floor - having almost fainted from the heat and exhaustion.

Another is Stuart, from Oban on Scotland’s west coast.

Stuart was travelling to Malaga with his wife and children, aged one and seven.

He and his family had to wait in queues for three hours on arrival - but it was even worse on the way back. Four days later, Stuart and his young family queued for three and half hours, just to get home.

A small mercy for them was that they managed to catch their flight at all.

Matthew from Manchester, together with his wife and son, missed their flight home from Milan in April after queueing for over four hours.

It then cost Matthew and his family an extra £2,000 to get home - for rebooking flights and getting a hotel room for the night.

That fact that Matthew, his family - and so many others - are now having to stump up emergency cash for something they had no control over is unacceptable.

Farage and the Conservatives

This new scheme is not ready. The EU has let travellers down with its bungled introduction.

Let’s also be clear: this is another symptom of the damage caused by the Conservatives’ botched Brexit deal, backed by Nigel Farage.

By ending freedom of movement, they chose to put up barriers for Britons wanting to travel to and work in Europe.

Their disastrous deal is now putting millions of Britons at the mercy of the misfiring EU border scheme.

And as the school holidays begin, we know that the disruption is only going to get worse.

With a possible 7 million trips in August alone, Brits are already facing - at a minimum - nearly 2 million extra hours of queueing. And that’s before we even factor in waiting times for those stuck queuing at peak times.

I fear this may test one of our proudest national characteristics - our patient and obedient queuing - to destruction. 

Suspending EES for the summer

So it’s time for the EU to face reality: the roll-out of its Entry/Exit System has been a disaster.

That’s why Andy Burnham needs to act now to protect British families from travel chaos this summer.

The Prime Minister needs to pick up the phone to each and every European leader - and persuade them, collectively, to suspend EES until at least September.

We know that it’s possible. The European Commission allows countries to revert to manual passporting. And we know that was around three times faster than the new system.

Greece, France, and Spain have each - at one time or another - suspended EES operations, including French officials at the Port of Dover in May.

So now, as travel chaos looms, Andy Burnham needs to step up, protect holidaymakers, and save the summer for travelling Brits.

Reports of EES technical difficulties here, queues here and missed flights here.

IATA calls here.

EU holiday destination suspension calls here.