Ryanair Flight Departs Athens After Some Passengers Miss Boarding Due to Border-Control Delays

Between 20 and 50 Ryanair passengers bound for London Luton were left at Athens airport when their flight departed without them. The airline said the travellers missed boarding because of delays at border control. Passengers who reached the gate on time boarded and flew without incident.

Athens airport officials said the congestion resulted from additional processing requirements for passengers travelling outside the Schengen zone. An airport spokesman stated that periods of congestion at passport control occurred due to heavy passenger numbers and new processing demands for non-Schengen travel.

Officials added that passenger flows on certain routes experienced longer processing times as new border-control procedures continue to be implemented and refined across European airports.

A witness told the BBC of a queue of several hundred people at both security and passport control under sweltering conditions. The witness described passengers pleading with Ryanair staff, with one man crying and another appearing ready to explode. Airport authorities intervened after multiple passengers expressed frustration at the delays.

Ryanair stated that passengers had failed to board on time due to delays caused by border control at Athens airport. One passenger posted on X that the airline left their daughter and half the passengers at the gate in Athens. The incident occurred as Greece abandoned earlier promises to spare British travellers from the EU's new biometric border checks.

The Greek Foreign Ministry stated it had no information that specific nationalities are temporarily exempt from the Entry/Exit System registration. British passport holders will face the same Entry/Exit System registration as all other non-EU visitors this summer.