Delays at passport control of up to four hours at some European airports are the “price to pay” for increased security, say EU officials.
Airlines have hit out at the delays and airports have been told to bring in more passport officials.
New, more stringent checks were brought in earlier this year following the terrorist attacks in Brussels and Paris carried out by perpetrators using EU passports.
The rules apply to passport holders from non-Schengen zone countries like Britain.
Furious British holidaymakers are forced to queue for up to FOUR HOURS in ‘Third World passport control’ https://t.co/wMxSkAWTi3pic.twitter.com/NqJ3uV3RTs
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) August 1, 2017
Mina Andreeva, spokeswoman for the European Commission, said: “We cannot have on the one hand a joint request from member states to have more checks and controls to increase security and at the same time have complaints about longer waiting periods.
“One is the price for the other. The implementation of the new rules falls under the responsibility of the member states who need to ensure the deployment of sufficient resources and also staff.”
Palma airport in Majorca, which has been among the worst hit, will increase the number of border control staff after passengers were stuck in queues hundreds of metres long.
UK newspapers have reported EU border staff have been told to spend up to ten minutes checking the details of each passenger.
Aviation industry body Airlines UK said it warned in May of the looming crisis.
Chief executive Tim Alderslade said the organisation had asked the UK government to persuade “Schengen member states to resource their border operations properly”.
Alderslade said: “This has failed to happen thus far and it is passengers are suffering as a consequence.”
Passengers at airports in Munich, Berlin, Amsterdam, Malaga, Nice, Barcelona and Madrid have been subject to long queues.