150 passengers miss Toulouse-London flight after airport border control delays
Around 150 passengers were unable to board a Ryanair flight to London after lengthy border control queues caused major delays at Toulouse Airport.
Around 150 passengers were left behind when a Ryanair flight from Toulouse to London departed without them after lengthy queues at border control prevented travellers from reaching the gate in time.
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Passengers described scenes of "pure chaos" at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport on 30 May, with an estimated 400 to 500 people waiting to clear passport checks as several international flights were boarding simultaneously.
One traveller said passengers for flights to London, Marrakech and Tunisia were mixed together in a crowded area with little organisation, while families and vulnerable passengers were not given priority.
Despite arriving at border control more than an hour before departure, many struggled to reach their gates.
The passenger said staff were present but appeared unable to manage the volume of travellers effectively.
After boarding flight FR282 to London Stansted Airport, passengers were informed by the pilot that around 150 people had been unable to board before departure.
The traveller said the disruption appeared to be linked to border control and airport organisation rather than the airline, adding that the situation could have been avoided with better crowd management.
The incident comes amid reports of lengthy border control queues at several French airports, prompting calls for passengers travelling from France to the UK to arrive at least three hours before departure.