'Third World passport control': Furious British holidaymakers are forced to queue for up to FOUR HOURS at main European airports after Brussels insists on new EU border checks

• .Tourists told to expect queues at airports such as Paris, Madrid, Lisbon and Milan
• .Checks imposed on entry and exit, with some travellers missing flights as result
• .Issues follow introduction of EU rules tightening controls within Schengen area
• .Have you been affected by the new EU border regulations? Call 0203 615 2676  or email richard.spillett@mailonline.co.uk

By Alex Matthews and Richard Spillett for MailOnline

British holidaymakers have been left standing in passport queues at European airports for up to four hours after tougher new border checks were imposed by the EU. 

Airports popular with British tourists, including Paris, Madrid and Lisbon, have seen queues stretching hundreds of yards as the stricter checks are imposed on entry and exit.

Some airports have reported long delays to planes taking off while crews wait for passengers to pass the border, and other travellers are said to have missed their flights while standing in line.

Palma airport in Majorca, which is inundated with British families this month after the start of the school holidays, is one of those hit. 

Tourist Connor Aston told MailOnline: 'There were four guys standing in only one booth yesterday at passport control. I felt they were punishing the UK residents and had a very abrupt attitude. It was absolutely not a good experience.' 

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New EU border checks insisted on by Brussels have left British holidaymakers queuing for up to four hours at Europe's main airports. Pictured, queues at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam

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This was the scene at Paris's Orly airport last week, where some reported 80-minute delays

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There were huge queues at Barcelona airport today where Twitter users said automatic barriers were not in use

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Palma airport is among those hit by the changes. This was the scene there in June when passengers reportedly missed flights. Spanish officials said the new rules had 'complicated passport control for British tourists'

Video shows holidaymakers in huge passport queue at Palma airport

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This was the scene at Palma airport earlier this summer, where passengers were reportedly missing flights. Source: Facebook / Rob Smith

Mr Aston was trying to get on an Easyjet flight to Belfast with his with partner, mother-in-law and children aged three, six and 12.

He waited around half an hour to get through controls, and added: 'It definitely looked as they were on a go slow.'

Paul Bower had to wait 90 minutes at Bergerac Airport after flying in from Bristol last Thursday. Much of the time passengers were standing on the tarmac next to a runway beneath a marquee.

He said: 'There were three booths open but only one was manned. It was definitely taking longer to check each passport.'

The problems follow an EU clampdown on people entering and leaving the Schengen zone, the border-free area which operates on the continent.

Brussels now requires passport control officials to carry out exit and entry checks on tourists from non-Schengen countries, which include Britain.

In the wake of terror attacks, it is understood passengers now have to be checked against a security database.

The changes mean waiting times have soared compared to previous summers, when British holidaymakers were waved through after officials checked the photo page of their passports. 

Airlines for Europe (A4E), which represents airlines including British Airways and easyJet, said that some EU countries had not staffed their passport control areas to take the new rules into account - further exacerbating the delays. 

Furious: Tourists have taken to Twitter to complain about long waits at European airports

British tourists have complained of massive delays on Twitter, with one traveller fuming: ' @Malaga__Airport I've been to many airports. Never have I had to stand in queue this long for passport control #appalling'. 

Another at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam, wrote: 'Amsterdam airport is a disaster again today. Schengen-passport control queue extends beyond E-gates 4hrs waiting time'. 

Were you affected by the tougher checks?

Tell MailOnline what happened to you by phoning 0203 615 2676 or emailing richard.spillett@mailonline.co.uk

Some airports in Europe still have slow computer systems, increasing the delays, The Times reported today.

Thomas Reynaert, of airline association A4E said: 'Travellers face long lines and can't get on their flights. Queuing for up to four hours has been the top record these days; airports like Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, Lisbon, Lyon, Paris-Orly, Milan or Brussels are producing shameful pictures of devastated passengers in front of immigration booths, in lines stretching hundreds of metres. 

'At some airports, flight delays have increased by 300% compared to last year — [Schengen] Member States must take the responsibility for this.'

Palma airport in Majorca is among one of the worst hit, with reports of long waits even before the schools summer holidays started last month.

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This was the scene at Palma airport in Majorca month after the new checks were brought in

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Passengers reportedly fainted in the long queues which snaked through the Majorca airport

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This was the scene in Majorca in April, the month after the new checks were brought in

Extra border officials had to be drafted in to the Balearic island last month amid reports tourists were missing their flights.  

A month after new rules were brought in, passengers were reportedly fainting in the long lines which formed at popular tourist island's airport. 

Local official, Maria Salom, told expat paper The OIive Press that new controls for non-Schengen residents 'had complicated passport control for British tourists'. 

A spokesperson for the UK's Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said: 'ABTA is aware that new, stricter passport checks are resulting in longer queues at Palma airport which is already busy due to a significant increase in passenger numbers.

'Tour operators will ensure that customers get to the airport in plenty of time so that they are not in danger of missing their flights, however independent travellers will need to ensure that they factor these longer queuing times into their travel plans when flying in and out of the airport.'

Why is this happening? How new EU rule is causing chaos at airports

The long queues at airports inside Europe's Schengen area are due to the implementation of a new EU regulation passed in March.

Regulation 2017/458 reinforces rules on checking non-Schengen passengers including Britons against what it calls 'relevant databases', understood to be police and security databases.

The new regulation calls on states to 'systematically carry out checks against relevant databases on all persons, including those enjoying the right to freedom of movement under Union law when crossing the external borders'. 

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British nationals face tougher checks going into Europe as the UK is not part of the Schengen group of countries

And the worst could be still to come, with some airports having not yet fully implemented the stricter checks.

Countries have to enforce the tighter rules by the 7 October 2017, meaning queues could become even longer by the end of the summer.

The countries in the Schengen area are Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.