Travelers heading
to Europe
this summer may need to prepare themselves for longer lines at passport control,
as the continent’s airports continue struggling with the European Union’s new Entry/Exit
System (EES).
The recently
implemented digital system requires non-EU citizens entering the 29-country
Schengen Area to register their fingerprints and have their photo taken. Their biometric data is checked again when they leave.
The process is most
often done at automated self-service kiosks, although some travelers (children
under 12, for example) must register with a border control officer in person.
Although authorities
began the EES’ phased introduction back in October 2025, the rollout has since
caused some serious slowdowns. Travelers at certain European airports have
reported waiting hours at passport control, and some have even missed their
flights home.
Budget carrier Ryanair
recently described the situation as “the failed EES rollout” and warned
passengers traveling to Europe this summer to “allow extra time for their
journey and be prepared for extended waits at passport control.”
The BBC reported that
processing times for travelers from the United
Kingdom (U.K.) — which is no longer an EU member state — have nearly
tripled at the busy Rome Fiumicino Airport.
Airport officials
there have found it impractical to send large numbers of passengers through
standalone kiosks, despite having spent €12 million (about $13.7 million) on
their installation.
“We are not at the
point where you have the same quality of the process [as] before the EES,” the
airport’s Chief Aviation Officer, Ivan Bassato, said. “I think that we need to
fix urgently certain aspects of the system.”
Travelers
interviewed by the BBC in Rome reported a wide range of experiences. One family
arriving from Yorkshire, England, waited two hours, while a U.S. couple spent about an
hour in line and missed their scheduled driver.
Portugal’s Faro
Airport has also experienced delays and technical trouble. Superintendent Pedro
Oliveira, who oversees border control there, said, “Sometimes what used to be a
10-minute queue ... takes over 30 minutes.”
Oliveira reported
that wait times of over an hour happen very rarely at Faro, but are possible if
more planes than anticipated arrive all at once. He also admitted that the EES
system overall has been dealing with some bugs in the technology.
“[EES] makes us
very dependent on the technology … servers often are intertwined and connected,
so sometimes something that happens in Warsaw affects our system here.
“At times, there
are just complications with the server of the European Union. Sometimes crashes
happen in all member states at the same time, and we need a few minutes to
reboot everything,” Oliveira said, although he noted that the problem is occurring
less frequently.
The European
Commission (EC) has insisted that disruption remains limited at most EU
airports and pledged to keep assisting participating countries in implementing
the new digital system.
“This support will
continue to the fullest extent possible,” the EC said.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
