Travellers heading to Europe this summer have been warned to brace for queues at airports – the first peak season since the EU’s digital border system came into full force. The Entry/Exit System (EES), rolled out last October and now fully operational, requires UK citizens to register fingerprints and a photo alongside a passport scan when entering or leaving the Schengen free movement zone, which covers 29 countries including France, Spain, Portugal and Italy.
The system replaces manual passport stamping and tracks every non-EU traveller – so-called “third country” nationals – as they cross borders. But the time needed to capture biometric data at automated kiosks has already sparked delays. During the introductory phase, queues flared at busy times in some airports, and waits of several hours have since been reported at others. A representative of airline trade body IATA warned that queues could stretch to six hours in some places.
“EU's digital border system faces first summer peak, with warnings of six-hour queues for UK travellers.”
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. The UK boss of Wizz Air told the BBC passengers should be prepared for a wait and advised turning up three hours before their flight home. Some passengers have already missed flights because they could not reach their gate in time.
Whether airlines will hold flights for those caught up is a mixed picture. Some say they will wait wherever possible, but Ryanair has said it will not. Greece has decided not to apply the biometric checks to British visitors over the peak period, while 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 of the worst-affected places; Portugal, for example, has announced hundreds of extra border staff.
With the summer holidays now providing the major test of the system, the question is whether airports and airlines can keep travellers moving – or whether the queues that have plagued the rollout will become a holiday nightmare.