BRITS going on holiday to Europe next year face an extra hour in airport queues after eurocrats rejected pleas to grant us access to fast lanes.
The EU Commission has told Member States visitors from the UK won’t be allowed to use passport e-gates from January 1.
It means we’ll have to join long lines with arrivals from the rest of the world including the US and China.
Our negotiators had asked Brussels to let European countries carry on giving Brits the same access as now.
E-gates electronically scan your biometric passport meaning it doesn’t have to be physically checked by a border guard.
They are in place at airports across the UK and Europe as well as the Eurostar terminals in Paris, Brussels, and London.
But they can only be used by citizens of the 27 EU countries, as well as those from Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
Studies have concluded loss of access to e-gates plus other extra post-Brexit checks will add around an hour to waiting times.
Brits have continued to enjoy the same preferential treatment at European airports as EU citizens during the Transition Period.
But when we leave it at the end of the year those rights will elapse.
The Commission has told Member States UK visitors will still be able to use e-gates when leaving Europe, but not on arrival.
It says that would be legally impossible under the bloc’s border code.
British ministers have previously said they will continue to let EU citizens use fast lanes when arriving here even after Brexit.
But that stance could change if the issue descends into a tit-for-tat row.
Visitors from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the US, Singapore, and South Korea can all use our fast lanes.
Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.hellofaread.com/politics/robotic-owl-which-helps-kids-catch-up-with-school-after-lockdown-wins-gov-cash/
