Not before time, the government is taking action to resolve the problems that have caused massive delays and inconvenience to passengers at European airports.
Many of the queues have been caused by the introduction of tighter exit and entry border controls for the Schengen area of EU nations, of which the UK is not a part.
These new controls were introduced in response to recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Nice, Brussels and Berlin in an attempt to prevent further atrocities.
The increased waiting times that Britons have endured stem largely from the need to swipe passports electronically to allow them to be checked against databases. To make things worse, not every Schengen member state has planned ahead or brought in enough extra staff to ease congestion. For all this to happen at the outset of the holiday season makes a tricky situation even worse.
Airlines have long been aware of the problem and have given plenty of warning to airports of the need to prepare. Airlines UK, the trade body for UK-registered carriers, raised concerns with the Department for Transport about the impact of the new Schengen rules back in May, shortly after it came into effect in April and following early cases of delays and queues over the Easter weekend.
Advertisement
It is regrettable that some airports failed to heed the warnings and that, several months later, they are still not taking the challenge seriously enough and are letting passengers pay the price.
British airlines are calling on the government to use its influence to try to help resolve the situation, perhaps by working with other non-Schengen states, such as Ireland, whose citizens and airlines are also being affected. Given the importance of British tourists and visitors to the economies of many Schengen area countries it is in their own interests to help us find a solution quickly.
Under existing rules, the Schengen area can temporarily lift stringent border controls if they are having a disproportionate impact on the flow of passengers at major airports. This is something the government should propose as a matter of urgency if these delays in Europe go on.
Tim Alderslade is the chief executive of Airlines UK