The European Union's digital Entry and Exit System (EES), launched last October and fully rolled out since April, is causing significant delays for travellers, with queues of up to five hours and flights departing half empty. The system requires most non-EU citizens, including those from the UK, to register biometric information—fingerprints and a facial photograph—at the border before entering the Schengen area, which comprises 25 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
What is the EES and how does it work?
The EES is designed to modernise border crossings by replacing passport stamping with digital registration. Travellers use self-service kiosks to enter their name, passport details, fingerprints, and the date and place of entry and exit. At ports like Dover, Eurotunnel LeShuttle at Folkestone, or Eurostar at St Pancras International, checks are done before leaving the UK. For returning travellers or those who have been through the system before, the process should be quicker, but some still need to re-record data.
Delays and missed flights
The rollout has faced major issues. At Lisbon airport, waits reached seven hours, forcing a temporary suspension. In April, about 100 passengers missed a flight from Milan to Manchester due to three-hour queues. Last month, similar delays in Athens caused angry scenes as passengers missed their flight to Luton. In an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday, travel industry groups—including ACI Europe, Airlines 4 Europe, and the International Air Transport Association—said the situation has “reached a critical point,” with waiting times of up to five hours during peak periods.
Calls for suspension
The head of Rome’s airports operator urged suspension to avoid a “disaster” this summer. ACI Europe’s president, Stefan Schulte, said politicians should “stop pretending that EES is working just fine. It is not.” In May, French police temporarily relaxed checks at Dover under an EES clause allowing temporary suspension during extreme delays. The open letter asks for suspension throughout the peak summer period.
What should travellers do?
Passengers are advised to arrive up to three hours early, but this may not help if check-in opens only two hours before departure. Taking only cabin baggage can skip luggage check-in. If a flight is missed, airlines are not obliged to rebook for free, as border delays may be considered extraordinary circumstances. Travel insurance typically does not cover such delays, according to the Association of British Insurers and Admiral Insurance. One family who missed their easyJet flight from Málaga due to queues paid £1,000 for new flights.
