No summer border delays for Brits, Greek tourism minister says

Greece's tourism minister has assured British holidaymakers they will face no border delays this summer, confirming the suspension of biometric checks for UK visitors [1]. Olga Kefalogianni stated the Greek government does not want visitors to be 'burdened' by bureaucratic procedures and is working to ensure frontier checks take 'less than a couple of minutes' [1]. Greece suspended biometric checks on UK visitors in early April after long queues built up at Corfu airport [1]. The European Commission confirmed last week that Portugal and Italy do not plan on exempting British nationals from the new EU Entry-Exit System (EES) checks [1]. Kefalogianni insisted Greece was not breaching EU rules, which allow EES checks to be suspended briefly when airports become congested [1]. 'What we're doing is not actually an exemption. It's just that we have made sure that we facilitate the procedure,' she said [1]. The EU said it was in contact with Greece 'to clarify the situation and recall the existing rules' [1]. Kefalogianni also noted reports of possible jet fuel shortages have made tourists more hesitant to travel, a trend she believes is widespread [1]. Since the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran erupted more than two months ago, jet fuel supplies from the Gulf have slowed [1]. Despite this, she said Greece already has many holidaymakers and looks forward to welcoming more [1].