British government tries to ease passport control queues

However, yet again, Britons are having to endure long queues at passport controls at Palma airport and many others in the EU as they wait for their passports to be stamped.

And, many others have been turned away at check-in desks because their passports do not comply with the new rules and regulations.

In a bid to try and ease the problem, the Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for European Union countries to clarify the requirements for passport validity.

Under the heading ‘Passport validity’, the update says: “If you are planning to travel to an EU country (except Ireland), or Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City, you must follow the Schengen area passport requirements.

“Your passport must be:

• issued less than 10 years before the date you enter the country (check the ‘date of issue’)

• valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave (check the ‘expiry date’)

“You must check your passport meets these requirements before you travel. If your passport was issued before 1 October 2018, extra months may have been added to its expiry date.

“Contact the embassy of the country you are visiting if you think that your passport does not meet both these requirements. Renew your passport if you need to.”