Ryanair passengers stranded in Greece due to passport control delays

Ryanair passengers were stranded in Greece after their UK-bound flight departed without them, amidst ongoing passport control delays at European airports. The flight from Athens International Airport to London Luton on Sunday left without an estimated 20 to 50 passengers who were unable to get through security and passport control in time.

Milo Boyd, a travel writer for the Daily Mirror, described a "mega queue" of several hundred people at Athens airport, with passengers pleading with airline staff to be allowed to board. He and his wife made it through just before the gate closed, but many others did not.

Ryanair stated that a number of passengers did not board on time due to delays caused by border control at Athens airport. The airport, however, cited "periods of congestion at passport control in the departures area due to high passenger volumes and the additional processing requirements associated with travel to non-Schengen destinations." They added that passenger flows on certain routes may experience increased processing times as new border-control procedures are implemented.

This incident follows previous reports of passengers being stranded due to long queues. In April, around 100 Easyjet passengers were left behind in Milan, and a Wizz Air executive advised British holidaymakers to arrive at European airports three hours in advance.