Greece has abandoned the EU’s new biometric entry requirements for British travellers this summer, ditching fingerprinting and facial scans amid fears the measures could trigger hours of queuing at airports across the continent.

British visitors — along with all other non-EU nationals — face being photographed and fingerprinted at every EU airport and border crossing under the Entry and Exit System, a new Brussels-mandated regime now fully up and running. Travel experts have warned the system could add as much as four hours to arrival times.

But Athens has moved to shield British tourists from the disruption. Eleni Skarveli, director of the Greek National Tourism Organisation in the UK, said the decision would “ensure a smoother and more efficient arrival experience in Greece” and would “significantly reduce waiting times” while easing congestion at airports.

Milan chaos

The scale of the disruption caused by the EES was laid bare last Sunday when more than 120 easyJet passengers booked to fly from Milan Linate Airport to Manchester were left stranded after the system created catastrophic delays.

Among those caught up in the chaos were teacher Max Hume, 56, his wife Lynsey, 46, and their 13-year-old son Archie, returning from a skiing holiday, reports the Telegraph. On arrival in Italy the family told reporters they spent well over an hour working through passport control. Acting on easyJet’s advice to allow extra time, they reached the departure terminal with the better part of three hours to spare before boarding was due to begin — only to watch helplessly as the plane left without them.

When easyJet staff reportedly informed the family that rebooking on the next available flight — five days away — would cost £330, they turned instead to an alternative route, spending around £1,600 on a connecting service via Luxembourg.

“Gutted, upset, let down, absolutely shattered and poorer — much poorer,” Mr Hume told The Independent as the family boarded the Luxembourg flight.

The Manchester flight carried just 34 of its 156 ticketed passengers — with 122 left behind on Italian soil. EasyJet later apologised.

Border kiosk failures

Problems with the EES extend to Britain’s own border infrastructure. At three juxtaposed border controls — Dover, Folkestone and London St Pancras — the EES kiosks remain unconnected to the French border police IT system. The issues are not expected to be resolved until September.

Greece is heavily dependent on British visitors, with busy island hubs including Corfu, Crete and Rhodes handling more than 2,000 UK passengers a day at peak times. Athens’ decision to exempt British tourists from EES requirements is widely seen as a bid to lock in that trade — and could encourage other Mediterranean countries to follow suit. No end date for the exemption has yet been confirmed.

Travel association ABTA said Greece was already expected to rank as the fifth most popular destination for British holidaymakers this summer, behind Spain, France, Italy and the United States. A spokesman reportedly said the EES exemption could prove significant in drawing tourists who might otherwise have chosen differently.

“Because of the war in the Middle East, Europe is seeing a big increase in interest as a holiday destination this year,” the spokesman is reported to have said, adding: “I think it’s too early to say what this change might mean for the number of people visiting, particularly as decisions on where to go are based on a number of factors.”

The news has already sparked a wave of enthusiasm online. “Greece for me this summer then, was thinking of Tenerife, but no way I’m putting up with those queues and chaos,” one user wrote on X.

“I work in the travel industry, already had customers worried about this new system believe me, Greece will benefit from this stand!” added another.

A third wrote: “Perfect — off to the Greek islands this summer — common sense prevails!”

Benidorm is a destination that Brits keep going back to – and for good reason. The area is known for its warm temperatures, vibrant nightlife and lively beaches. It has become recognised as a beloved holiday destination for huge amounts of tourists looking for a holiday.

Around 800,000 to 900,000 Brits flock to the Spanish resort annually, establishing them as the largest international tourist group in the city. The coastal city on Spain‘s Costa Blanca is known as the “Spanish Las Vegas” for its countless bars, clubs, and cabaret venues, especially clustered around the Levante district and Calle Gerona.

One tourist who visited shared a clip on social media of one surprising scene which has quickly circulated online.

Benidorm attracts an incredibly varied clientele that changes considerably depending on the season and the particular area of the city.

While it is famously a magnet for British “sun and sea” tourists, it is equally a prime destination for Spanish nationals and pensioners.

Holidaymaker, Mattie Powell, from North Wales, recently detailed his experience of a Benidorm getaway, describing an unusual sight that he didn’t expect to see.

He said he saw “everything you expect and more” when he glanced out of his hotel window.

Mattie posted to his Instagram page a video showing a “traffic jam of mobility scooters” along a Benidorm path.

He captioned it: “Traffic jam of mobility scooters was not on my 2026 bingo card.”

Those who use mobility scooters are known to regularly head to Benidorm because the resort is remarkably flat and accessible, especially along its extensive beachfront promenades.

This renders it an unusual holiday destination where people with limited mobility can move about independently for miles.

Numerous people were loving the video, as it accumulated over 105,000 likes.

One person joked: “City’s safe in their hands.”

While another user quipped: “Might go there and do some British spotting.”

The post follows a recent visit to Benidorm by an American tourist who found himself baffled by one thing.

Travel enthusiast Kalani, from the US, revealed he was repeatedly quizzed about someone called “Charlie” during his stay.

“I need someone to tell me about who Charlie is,” Kalani said, recounting how numerous people had approached him offering him “Charlie” after a night out on the Strip.

It didn’t take long for his followers to set him straight, explaining that it is a widely-used slang term for cocaine.