Europe’s new Entry/Exit System is entering a critical expansion phase, and one of the United Kingdom’s largest travel trade bodies is warning that the growing pains are far from over.

As more airports and ports across the continent switch on the biometric border checks, ABTA – The Travel Association – is urging EU border authorities to make fuller use of contingency measures that allow them to dial back or even suspend the system temporarily when queues and delays threaten to overwhelm terminals.

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EES rollout shifts up a gear across Europe

The EU’s Entry/Exit System, a large-scale biometric database for non-EU nationals on short stays, went live on 12 October 2025 after years of technical delays and political wrangling.

From that date, 29 European countries using the system began progressively enrolling third-country travellers at their external borders, replacing the traditional ink passport stamp with an electronic entry and exit record.

Under the implementation plan approved by EU institutions, member states can phase in EES over a 180 day transition window. In practice this has meant a patchwork start, with some airports and land crossings fully equipped from day one and others only beginning trials with a small share of eligible passengers.

The European Commission has made clear that by April 2026 the system should be fully deployed at all border crossing points, with manual stamping reserved only for exceptional circumstances.

Despite the gradual approach, the impact on passenger processing has been significant. Each first-time registration under EES requires a passport scan, capture of a facial image and fingerprints, and verification against central databases.

Border officials across the Schengen area report that this first encounter can take several minutes per traveller, creating bottlenecks wherever staffing and infrastructure have not kept pace with demand.

The strain has been felt most acutely at major hubs and seasonal gateways. Reports from Geneva, Lisbon, Malaga and several German and French airports describe spikes in wait times at passport control, particularly when large numbers of long-haul arrivals coincide with local peak hours.

With only 10 percent of eligible travellers required to go through EES during the initial phase, industry observers fear the true pressure point is still to come.

ABTA calls for flexible use of contingency powers

It is against this backdrop that ABTA has issued its latest warning. From Friday 9 January 2026, the EES rollout enters a new operational stage, with more airports and ports switching on the system and the proportion of passengers going through biometric checks increasing from 10 percent towards the next threshold of 35 percent.

In a statement, ABTA said that travellers’ experiences since October have ranged from “relatively smooth” to “large queues” at passport control, and that there is a clear risk of more widespread disruption as EES expands to new locations in the coming months.

The association is urging EU border authorities to be proactive in applying the contingency measures built into the legislative framework for the system.

Those measures, negotiated between the European Parliament and EU governments, allow member states to partially or fully suspend operation of EES at specific border crossing points in exceptional circumstances.

For the duration of such a suspension, border guards can revert to manual passport stamping to clear backlogs, before reactivating biometric checks once traffic stabilises.

ABTA argues that these powers should not be seen as an admission of failure but as an essential safety valve during a complex technological transition.

The association wants border agencies to use them early, particularly during school holidays and other peak periods, so that airports do not reach the point where queues spill into terminal concourses or create knock-on delays for baggage handling and security.

Travel industry fears repeat of winter and summer disruption

Concerns about what happens next are informed by recent experience. In the first months after EES went live, Airports Council International Europe documented increases in border control processing times of up to 70 percent at affected airports, with some passengers waiting as long as three hours in line at peak times.

Airports in France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal and Spain were singled out as being particularly affected.

Those longer waits have already had practical consequences. Airlines operating from Spanish and Portuguese leisure gateways have reported passengers missing flights because they were still queueing at passport control when boarding closed.

Low-cost carriers have issued advisories urging customers to arrive at the airport even earlier than usual and to proceed straight to security and exit checks after check-in.

At Switzerland’s Geneva airport, a key hub for winter sports traffic, local media and passengers have reported queues at passport control stretching to several hours on busy weekends as non-EU skiers submitted their fingerprints and facial scans for the first time.

On several occasions, authorities have reportedly reduced the use of EES or switched some lanes back to manual processing to prevent congestion from spreading through the terminal.

With the EES share of eligible travellers now set to climb sharply and more border posts preparing to join the system, travel organisations fear a repeat of that disruption on a larger scale.

They warn that without more flexible operations at the border, the coming Easter and summer peaks could see significant numbers of passengers delayed or denied boarding, eroding confidence in both the new system and the broader European travel experience.

What contingency measures can border authorities use?

The legal framework underpinning EES was amended in 2025 to incorporate a progressive launch and a set of contingency tools.

During the 180 day transition, national authorities are allowed to decide which border crossing points deploy EES and at what pace, provided that they are steadily increasing the share of travellers captured in the system against agreed milestones.

Crucially, the compromise reached between EU institutions includes the power for member states to suspend the use of EES, fully or partially, at a given border crossing point in clearly defined exceptional situations.

These may include situations where traffic intensity leads to very high waiting times, where technical outages prevent biometric systems from functioning reliably, or where safety within terminals might be compromised by crowding.

After the end of the progressive start period, the legislation still allows for short-term suspensions, up to six hours in duration, when extraordinary circumstances arise.

In all cases, authorities must continue to carry out border checks using conventional methods, including manual inspection and stamping of passports. They are also required to notify EU partners and the European Commission when invoking these measures.

ABTA and other industry voices want to see these tools treated as an integral part of operational planning rather than a last resort.

They say that clear local thresholds for activating and lifting suspensions should be established in advance, such as maximum acceptable queue times or specific passenger volumes.

In their view, this would give both airlines and passengers more predictability and help avoid the perception that EES is being switched on and off arbitrarily.

Balancing security, digitalisation and passenger experience

Supporters of EES stress that the system is intended to bring long-term benefits to border management and travel. Once travellers are registered, subsequent crossings should be quicker, especially where automated gates are in place.

Authorities will gain a more accurate picture of who is entering and leaving the Schengen area, enabling them to identify overstays, combat identity fraud and improve internal security.

Digital records are also expected to benefit bona fide travellers over time by reducing the scope for errors in passport stamping and by making it easier to demonstrate compliance with short-stay limits.

For frequent visitors from visa-exempt countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, a one-off registration could eventually translate into smoother journeys on later trips.

However, industry groups argue that these benefits must not come at the cost of chronic congestion today. They point out that the first impression of EES for many travellers is formed at the registration stage, not once repeat visits become routine.

If that first encounter involves several hours in a crowded arrivals hall, they warn, passengers may choose alternative destinations that are perceived as easier to access.

Border authorities therefore face a delicate balancing act as they expand the system. They must keep a clear focus on security and data integrity while ensuring that the physical infrastructure, staffing levels and passenger information keep pace with the technology.

Travel associations say that effective use of contingency measures is one way to manage that balance, provided the suspensions remain targeted and time-limited.

How airlines and airports are adapting to the new reality

Across Europe, airlines and airports have been racing to adapt to EES. Many large hubs have installed battery after battery of self-service kiosks in arrivals halls, where travellers can complete part of the registration process before presenting themselves to a border guard.

Others have reconfigured queuing areas and signage to separate EES users from EU nationals and other exempt passengers.

Yet these investments have not always delivered the hoped-for efficiencies. Technical teething problems, including intermittent outages and difficulties integrating national systems with the central EES database, have sometimes left rows of kiosks idle while queues build at staffed desks.

Shortages of trained border officers have compounded those issues, with some airports unable to open all their control booths even at peak times.

Airlines, for their part, have stepped up their pre-departure communications, warning customers to allow extra time at departure and arrival airports and explaining, in broad terms, what to expect at EES-enabled borders.

Some have adjusted schedules or turnaround plans at particularly affected airports, building in more margin for late-arriving passengers and potential delays in offloading arriving flights.

ABTA and other trade bodies are now pressing for closer coordination between carriers, airports and border agencies as the rollout intensifies.

They argue that sharing detailed data on queue times, system performance and passenger flows in near real time would allow for more dynamic staffing and, where needed, temporary activation of contingency measures before terminals reach breaking point.

What travellers should expect in the months ahead

For travellers from non-EU, non-Schengen countries, the evolving rollout of EES will be hard to miss.

Over the coming months, more airports, seaports and land crossings will switch on biometric registration for first-time users, and the proportion of eligible passengers required to go through the system will climb towards full coverage.

Passengers arriving in Europe for the first time since October 2025 should expect to provide fingerprints and have a facial image captured at the border, in addition to the standard passport scan.

At some locations this will take place at a self-service kiosk followed by an interview with a border guard, while elsewhere the entire process will occur at a staffed desk.

Those who have already been registered on a previous trip may find that subsequent crossings are faster, though they will still pass through EES-enabled control points.

Travel associations recommend allowing extra time, particularly when connecting onward from an EES border point to a short-haul departure.

Families with small children, older travellers and those who are not familiar with automated systems may need additional assistance at kiosks and gates, which can further slow the flow at busy times.

ABTA has stopped short of advising against travel to the EU but is clear that expectations should be managed.

It wants national authorities to communicate clearly and consistently about where EES is in use, how contingency measures might affect operations on a given day and what passengers can do to prepare, in order to reduce anxiety at the border.

FAQ

Q1. What is the EU Entry/Exit System (EES)?
EES is a new EU-wide border management system that records the entry and exit of non-EU, non-Schengen nationals on short stays, using biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images instead of manual passport stamps.

Q2. Why is EES causing delays at some airports and ports?
First-time registration under EES takes longer than a traditional stamp because border officers must capture and verify biometric data, which, combined with technical glitches and staffing shortages, has led to queues at busy border points.

Q3. What contingency measures are available to EU border authorities?
During the progressive rollout, member states can partially or fully suspend the use of EES at specific border crossings in exceptional circumstances and temporarily revert to manual passport stamping to clear backlogs.

Q4. Why is ABTA calling for greater use of these contingency measures?
ABTA believes that using the suspension powers more proactively can prevent queues from becoming unmanageable as more passengers and locations are brought into EES, reducing the risk of missed flights and severe disruption.

Q5. Will EES eventually make border checks faster?
Once a traveller’s data is registered, repeat crossings should be quicker, especially at airports with automated gates, so the system is expected to speed up checks in the long run even if it slows them initially.

Q6. Who has to use EES and who is exempt?
EES applies to most non-EU, non-Schengen nationals entering for short stays, while EU citizens, residents holding EU residence permits, and travellers to Ireland and Cyprus continue to have their passports processed outside the system for now.

Q7. How should travellers prepare for the expanded rollout?
Travellers are advised to arrive earlier than usual, proceed promptly to passport control, have passports ready and be prepared to follow instructions at self-service kiosks or automated gates where EES is in use.

Q8. Will EES store my data permanently?
The system stores personal and biometric data for a limited period defined in EU law, after which it is deleted, and is subject to strict rules on data protection and access by national authorities.

Q9. Can airports or countries opt out of EES if problems persist?
Participating countries cannot opt out of EES altogether, but they can slow the rollout at specific crossing points or temporarily suspend its use under the contingency provisions when there are exceptional operational problems.

Q10. Is it still safe to book trips to Europe while EES is being rolled out?
Travel associations say it remains safe to travel but advise building in extra time for border checks and staying informed about conditions at your chosen airport or port as the system continues to expand.