Holidaymakers flying to Europe this summer have been warned to brace for queues of up to six hours at airports under the EU’s new digital border system. The Entry/Exit System (EES), which requires UK travellers to register fingerprints and a photo alongside a passport scan, is facing its first peak period since it was rolled out last October. The system tracks who enters and leaves the Schengen free movement zone, covering 29 countries including France, Spain, Portugal and Italy.
During the introductory period, queues flared up at certain airports at busy times. Since then, some airports have reported smooth operations, but others have seen waits of several hours – with a representative of airline trade body IATA warning queues could hit six hours. Travel experts and industry figures have blamed problems with the technology and border staffing levels. There have also been reports of people having to register their biometric information more than once.
“EU digital border checks may cause six-hour airport queues this summer.”
The UK boss of Wizz Air told the BBC passengers should prepare for a wait and turn up three hours before their flight home. Some passengers have already missed flights because the EES checks meant they could not reach their gate in time. Whether airlines will hold flights for passengers who get held up is a mixed picture: some say they will wait where possible, but Ryanair has said it will not.
Greece is not applying the biometric checks to British visitors over the peak period, and the European Commission is allowing the system to be suspended in “exceptional circumstances that lead to excessive waiting times” until September. Improvements are planned in some places which have seen the worst queues – for example, Portugal has announced hundreds of extra border staff. The summer holidays will provide a major test of the system, with many Brits heading to popular destinations like Spain, Portugal, Italy and France.