The Hume family from Leeds woke extra early on Sunday morning to leave their Italian ski resort for Milan Linate airport. On their outbound journey from Manchester, Max Hume, 56, his wife Lynsey, 46, and their 13-year-old son Archie had queued for over an hour at passport control on arrival in Italy. The Hume family arrived at Milan Linate airport nearly three hours before their flight back to Manchester was due to leave. After checking in their luggage, the Hume family arrived at passport control at 9:15am, with only a handful of passengers ahead of them. Staff at passport control would not let the Hume family through because a gate had not yet been assigned for the Manchester flight.
Frontier officials were demanding fingerprints and facial biometrics from all travelers, even though they had been collected on the way into Italy a week earlier. According to the EU entry-exit system rules, once both biometrics have been registered, only one should be taken on subsequent arrivals and departures. There were two officers and one biometric machine processing the Manchester passengers. Every single person had to do face scan, passport scan, and fingerprints. There were about 16 machines that could have been used for biometric processing.
Passengers booked on other non-Schengen flights on Sunday morning, including two on British Airways to Heathrow and an easyJet flight to Gatwick, were allowed through passport control. People were arriving late for the London flights and were being let through while the Manchester passengers were held back. At least some of the passengers who made it onto the Manchester flight had lied and said they were going to London in order to be allowed through passport control.
Mr. Hume's wife nearly passed out in the heat, and a fellow passenger was sick into a bag.
The Hume family watched their plane depart without them due to chaotic enforcement of the EU entry-exit system. More than 100 other passengers were left behind with the Hume family. Of the 156 passengers said to be booked on easyJet flight 5420 to Manchester, it is believed only 34 boarded, leaving 122 behind in Italy.
Staff working for easyJet said the Hume family would have to pay £330 to be rebooked on the next available flight, five days later. The Hume family spent over £1,600 for a connecting flight via Luxembourg, which will see them arriving 24 hours late. EasyJet said it is sorry for any inconvenience caused and that stranded passengers will be offered free transfers to alternative flights.