New EU border systems, which came into force in mid-October, turned a couple’s planned one-week fact-finding trip into ‘a nightmare’
A retired couple from Leeds is considering giving up on their dream of buying a holiday home in Sicily after being “trapped” for hours at Milan’s Malpensa Airport due to new EU travel rules.
Michael Bradford, 77, and his wife Elaine, 75, both former software engineers and IT managers, were headed to the village of Sambuca di Sicilia this month for a property hunt, with the aim of buying a cheap house in the village’s picturesque old district.
But the new Entry/Exit System (EES), which came into force in mid-October, with biometric controls and more complex airport checks, turned their planned one-week holiday into “a nightmare”, they said.
After queuing for hours at the machine checks the couple were so angry and frustrated that they gave up on continuing their journey down to Sicily.
The Bradfords are now seriously rethinking the option of buying any property in Italy.
“Our plan was to rent a car at Malpensa and drive to Sicily, but we were so exhausted once through the checks that we simply gave up”, Michael Bradford told The i Paper.
“We decided to exit the airport, spend two days instead in Milan just to wind down after all the stress, and then return back home via London Heathrow without visiting Sambuca,” he added.
While the couple were expecting some extra challenges at the airport for non-EU travellers, what they experienced went far beyond their worst fears, they said.
When their plane landed in Malpensa and they disembarked, they said they were caught up in “utter chaos”.
There were “endless” queues of passengers lining up for biometric checks, with many loudly complaining in despair against their delays. Meanwhile, airport staff was “helpless” in keeping the situation under control.
“It took us two and a half hours to get through the checks, my wife almost fainted from fatigue and my arthritic knees were shaky. It was hell,” Bradford said.
Malpensa Airport authorities declined to comment.
Last month, airlines warned of added time and tech needed to process passengers under the new system. British passengers flying to Europe were warned they could face hours of delays. At Malpensa Airport, passengers posted videos of the queues online.
According to Bradford, there were few machines at the airport for the new immigration controls, and everyone was trying to squeeze in from the sides to skip the line.
“As soon as we were done, we were so exhausted that we exited the airport to breathe some fresh air and changed our travel plan”, he said.
After such a negative experience, they are no longer sure of their plans, as the new rules, they say, have made “Brexit passengers even more wary and scared of traveling anywhere”.
The couple, who have no kids, had been drawn in by the housing scheme launched by Sambuca’s authorities over the past few years, in an attempt to bring new residents into the area. Dozens of expats have snapped up cheap properties in the village and then restyled them for as little as £17,000.
“We’ve always dreamt of spending summer and other festivities in Italy, but I guess our timing in looking for a home might be really bad. It may be too late,” said Bradford.
The couple had planned to see around five different properties with a local agent on their Sicily trip last month, and had budgeted a maximum of £53,000 for a two-bedroom house with a panoramic balcony that they could enjoy, particularly during summers. They were hoping to get a turnkey home without the need for renovation.
“We’ve read so much online about Sambuca, and were lured by pictures of its Arab-like, exotic architecture, the winding alleys and the slow-paced vibe of Italy’s south,” Bradford said. “The village has a great location, close to the beaches, surrounded by pristine hills dotted with vineyards. We’d be sunbathing while drinking wine.”
However, they now doubt things will get any easier at Italian airports even once the initial phase of the EES system is complete and the new procedures are fully up-and-running.
“Those queues are just putting us off in buying property, particularly the thought of having to face all the chaos again every time we would come to Sicily to enjoy our holiday home,” Bradford said.
Their forced two-day break in Milan also turned out gloomy, as it was raining and there “wasn’t much to do or see”, he said.
“We’re very concerned that facing new airport rules and red tape in future will become our worst nightmare,” Bradford added, and that “holidays in Europe will no longer be something pleasant to even consider”.
