To consider cancelling my holiday because of the EES?

[idontwanttogoanymore]

I just can’t cope with this stress. I will be travelling alone and I can’t afford (literally or mentally) to miss a flight because of this system.

I just don’t want to go. It’s looming over me. I did it in February going into Norway, but that makes no difference. You’re still in the queue for hours. I’m flying with Ryanair and they only open their bag drop 2 hours before, they’re now saying three hours to get through. So it’ll be literally impossible.

Have you checked what Ryanair have to say about it?

I flew with Ryanair yesterday. Checked bag in 2 hours and 45 mins before departure. Adults with no kids went straight through ESS with very small queue, children checked manually, about a ten minute queue.

but it sounds like you have already decided it will be a stressful nightmare, so you are probably better off cancelling than working yourself in a frenzy and not enjoying the holiday anyway.

Just gone to Italy. Not true. It depends on the airport. I went through the e-gates without issue.

I think you are letting your anxiety get the better of you! Go to the airport well in advance so you are first in the queue. You are travelling alone so it should be a breeze. I travelled to portugal with 2 children and managed fine. Things took time but we didn’t miss our flight either going or returning. Please calm down and breathe deeply. It will all be fine. Stressing about the past like brexit is not going to change the current situation. It is what it is.

Its everything to do with Brexit

I don’t get what the fuss is all about. I’ve travelled a few times since the system was introduced, you have to do the fingerprint scan and have your photo taken, takes an extra 2-3 mins - I didn’t have to do this every time either. I haven’t noticed an increase in queuing time

We always were able to pass our own laws, what do think the 2 Houses spend some of their time doing. Our politicians were elected - including the sainted Farage who wasn't backwards at accepting European money.

As for trade deals and controlling borders, now that we have Brexit that's really working well isn't it.

Your argument doesn't stack up.

I’ve been through Milan twice (with checked luggage) since the system came into play with zero issues. You’ll be absolutely fine.

This is the intellectual calibre of the people who voted us out. 😡

Which Milan airport are you using? If Malpensa, yes it's the bigger one. If I was as worried as you were I'd change flights to a smaller airport (fewer flights) like Bergamo or even Verona or Genoa and take the train to wherever you're going. The distance is around 100km which is nothing these days, in comparison to not getting there at all! Be creative, suck up the money hit to change flights,(worth it for your headspace), bring underseat bag with two changes of clothes and essential meds/toiletries/electronics. And go!

Every third country (non EU/EEA) has to use EES system. Don't be daft into thinking Starmer or anyone else can get a separate deal for the UK. There's the hubris again that led us to this path. It's life and I can't see anything changing any time soon with regards to EES. Other co-operation and reciprocal arrangements, yes, but not EES.

So do what you have to do. Or stay at home forever and never go to EU again in protest!

I would hope so, but a medical assessment would at least weed out the piss takers.

”I just can’t cope with this stress.” OP, kindly - and I would say this to a friend - cop yourself on.

Mate, you need to calm the fuck down. Mr Monkey went from London to Hamburg a couple of weeks ago, it was about 5 mins extra to do finger prints. That was all.

Airlines always advise that peole of arrive early, mainly to account for faffers and complex needs. The only time I have ever needed all that time was when flying to Spain literally days after the liquids ban following the rumbled terrorist plot. That was chaos as new rules were being imposed on passengers, many of whom were unaware of them. We still made the flight.

On a side note, I assume you have never been to America, even before Trump, immigration queues there can be brutal. It took is over an hour and a half to get through Logan aiport in 2024.

I went to Germany on the weekend that was supposed to be’chaos’ as reported in the media and it was absolutely fine! I didn’t know what the fuss was all about!! There was a queue but it moved very quickly, no problem at all. As pp said, you are catastrophising, the media is whipping everyone into a frenzy for clicks and you need to ignore it. Enjoy your holiday!

This is actual proof that you’re not listening to a word people are saying and are determined to be hysterical. Nowhere does this poster say she’s a travel agent. I took it to mean she’s an emergency call number for the kind of situation you’re worried about. And that she’s had literally NO calls over a period of time.
I for one can’t imagine cancelling my holiday over something that might not even happen. I suppose you’d never know but imagine cancelling and then finding out that everything was fine . What a waste of.

You are utterly deluded. Of course Starmer can’t “easily negotiate” an exemption to rules that impact every single non-EU country in the world. The fuckwits in the UK voted for Brexit and this is one of the many results of that. Why on earth would the EU give us an exemption after we voted to throw away all the benefits of membership!!! You should be directing all your anger at Farage and his Brexit lies.

Op, I really think you need to get some real life support if the level of anxiety and over reaction you are showing on this thread is genuine.

Your travel will be fine. Go to the airport early and follow the system. It might be a bit slower than normal but thousands of people are travelling every day and it is fine. Ignore the news. It's half term in a lot of places - there is always an "airport chaos" story at half term and it's never as bad as the press make it seem.

You are irrationally focused on Starmer. He wasn't the cause of Brexit. This is the EU's rules. The EU won't be up for negotiations on a Saturday night and even the Prime Minister is allowed to have a night off to watch the football. The new rules are not really different from travelling to other countries (US, Australia etc).

You’re right OP, definitely cancel your holiday. There’s no point even trying. Makes sense to lose the money now and a trip you were really looking forward to. That’s definitely rational, non-deluded thinking. In fact, you’re probably never going to be able to go abroad again, so might as well accept it now.

In all seriousness, have you perhaps missed a few doses of your anxiety medication recently? DP often has kind of deluded thinking if he does…

So in the last 8 months I’ve flown to Dubai, France, USA, turkey, Berlin, Lanzarote, Azerbaijan, Porto and Barcelona. I have missed zero flights. Have had zero stress. There was a long queue at security last week to fly out but just because it was school holidays. Took 40 mins to get through. No issues whatsoever with passports. Even in the USA where they said it would take hours to clear passport control. You’re causing yourself massive amounts of stress for no reason

Hi @GalaDinner, is HDA Hacienda del Alamo? Did an overnight at the hotel there when my flight from Murcia was grounded due to high winds earlier this year. Lovely room and facilities, promised myself I would go stay again when I had more time to enjoy them (and better weather!) 😊

OP, people have given you tons of very sensible, logical, "talking you down" advice, but you're determined to poo-poo it all.

If you're that upset/bothered, then just don't go. It affects exactly no-one apart from yourself. Literally no-one else will care if you're in Milan or not.

Plus thinking that the guy who spent one of the least amount of time in the European Parliament supposedly representing his constituents and claimed among the most amount on expenses is the guy who’s a man of the people most likely to help to get us out of the difficult financial situation he more than practically anyone helped get us into.

But as Mark Twain probably said, ‘It’s easier to fool someone than to convince them they’ve been fooled’.

There’s no point arriving at Gatwick three hours early, that’s not where the holdups are. It’s when you arrive at the European airport, or are returning home from a European airport that the delays occur ( if there are any delays).

Think you have been on the duty free already

I haven't read the whole thread but I have read all of your posts OP and this is either not real (although I believe it is) or there is other stuff going on, some other form of anxiety or something. I say this because it is not normal for someone to be so worked up and angry about having to queue - even for hours- when travelling. I'm not saying it's fun, of course it isn't but most people would just suck it up if they really wanted to go - especially if they are travelling as a single person with no kids. You know its happening so can be prepared, take something to sit on - walking sticks with a seat for example. You just angry at everything, even at the solution of cancelling the trip or going somewhere else.