The EU’s Entry/Exit System has been causing serious disruption at major European airports since its full rollout in April, with some travellers waiting up to three hours at passport control and missing their flights entirely. For anyone heading to Spain, Italy, Portugal or France this summer, the rules of the airport game have changed.
The image of a leisurely pre-flight hour — a glass of wine at the terminal restaurant, a browse through the duty-free, a quiet seat in the lounge — is one that European airports have spent decades cultivating. This summer, that ritual may need to wait.
Since the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) came into full effect in April, airports across the Schengen Area have been grappling with significant bottlenecks at border control. The biometric system requires non-EU travellers — including British and American passport holders — to have fingerprints and facial recognition data recorded each time they enter or exit the zone. For airports processing thousands of passengers daily, the cumulative effect has been queues that can stretch to three hours, with little warning and considerable variation from one airport to the next.
The consequences have moved beyond inconvenience. One of the most striking incidents this season involved an easyJet flight from Milan to Manchester that departed with just 34 passengers aboard after more than 120 travellers failed to clear passport control in time. These were not people who arrived late. They arrived with what would, in any previous summer, have been sufficient time.
Disruption has been reported across some of Europe’s busiest gateways — Lisbon, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Faro among them — with travel experts warning that passenger volumes will only intensify through July and August. Spain, Italy, Portugal, France and Greece are all flagged as destinations where delays are likely to continue.
The practical advice from those tracking the situation is straightforward, if counterintuitive for experienced travellers: treat passport control as the first order of business after check-in, not the last. The shops, restaurants and lounges are not going anywhere. A flight, once boarded, is.
The particular challenge with EES is its unpredictability. Unlike security queues, which most frequent travellers have learned to read reasonably well, EES processing times vary depending on staffing levels, the volume of first-time registrations being handled, and the specific infrastructure of each airport. Arriving three hours before departure, which has long been considered more than adequate, has proven insufficient in some cases this season.
For those travelling with companions, family members or anyone requiring additional assistance at the border, the margin for error narrows further. The advice is to build in more time than feels necessary, proceed directly through to border control after check-in, and save the airport’s retail pleasures for the other side of the stamp.
Some airports are beginning to offer pre-registration options for biometric processing — worth checking before departure, particularly for those with connecting flights where missed timings carry a heavier cost.
The summer travel season has never rewarded complacency at the border. This year, it is asking for something more: a genuine recalibration of the pre-flight routine.
Source: Global Work & Travel — globalworkandtravel.com
Amanda O’Brien is the creator and editor of The Boutique Adventurer. She has visited 80 countries and is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers as well as the IFTWTA. She is passionate about wine had has just completed Level 3 of the WSET. Born in Australia, she lives in London.