Warning of four-hour waits at passport control this summer as chaotic EES rollout continues

Europe’s airports and airlines have joined forces to demand the EU suspends the planned full implementation of the entry-exit system (EES) – or risk waits for British passengers of four hours or more in summer.

The much-delayed EU digital borders scheme requires “third-country nationals” including UK passport holders to provide fingerprints and facial biometrics the first time they cross a Schengen area border. For subsequent entries and exits, one biometric is sufficient.

The EES began to be rolled out in October 2025. The 29 Schengen member states have progressive targets for the proportion of non-EU citizens who are screened at the frontiers they operate.

The European Commission insists the digital borders scheme is operating “largely without issues”.

At present at least 35 per cent of third-country nationals should be asked to provide biometrics.

Until the roll-out is concluded, which is scheduled to be no later than 9 April, travellers are experiencing double red tape – with analogue checking and stamping of passports required in addition to possible digital checks.

With half-term approaching, there are serious concerns about the preparedness of frontier systems specifically at Geneva – gateway to the Alps for tens of thousands of British skiers – and the Canary Islands.

Aviation industry leaders have written to Magnus Brunner, the EU commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, warning him that even at the current level of barely one-third of non-EU citizens, “persistent excessive waiting times of up to two hours” are happening at airport border control.

Such delays are particularly acute for departing travellers, with reports of many passengers being left behind because they are unable to reach the gate in time due to long queues.

The letter is jointly signed by Olivier Jankovec, director general of Airports Council International (ACI) Europe; Ourania Georgoutsakou, managing director of Airlines for Europe (A4E); and Thomas Reynaert, senior vice-president of the International Air Transport Association (Iata).

They warn: “There is a complete disconnect between the perception of the EU institutions that EES is working well, and the reality, which is that non-EU travellers are experiencing massive delays and inconvenience.”

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Airlines and airports say three “critical issues” are compounding EES delays:

The trio say: “Unless immediate action is taken to resolve these critical issues, mandatory EES registrations of all border crossings during the peak summer season, in particular in July and August, would result in waiting times of up to four hours or more.”

They want the European Commission “to confirm that Schengen Member States will retain the ability to partially or totally suspend EES until the end of October 2026”.

Markus Lammert, European Commission spokesperson for Internal Affairs, said at a briefing on the EES: “The entry-exit system was successfully launched across member states in a progressive approach in October last year.

"This is a very big step forward for the EU in our collective security. With this digital system, we strengthen the security of our common borders and of the Union as a whole, and we make traveling smoother for all travellers.

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“We see very good results: 23 million entries and exits registered so far, all major airports connected, and also 12,000 refusals of entry.

“Now, rolling out such a large-scale system is a complex and complicated task. This is why we went for a progressive rollout with built-in flexibility that means that member states do have the tools necessary to manage any potential problems.

“Thanks to this progressive launch, what we see is that initial changes that are typical for any new systems that have to be introduced have been addressed.

“We also see that since the start of the system, this happened largely without major issues, even during the peak holiday period.”

The aviation leaders say in their letter: “There is a complete disconnect between the perception of the EU institutions that EES is working well, and the reality, which is that non-EU travellers are experiencing massive delays and inconvenience.

At the briefing, Mr Lammert said: “We know that the gradual rollout runs until April, but since we hear also about concerns regarding the coming summer, there's also even flexibility inbuilt for the summer period – so member states, if needed, can always prolong this gradual rollout period until September.”

Read more: Simon Calder on what UK travellers need to know for 2026