BRUSSELS — The European Union’s newly implemented digital entry system is now mandatory, leading to significant delays at airports and concerns for passengers missing their flights. The Entry/Exit System (EES) aims to replace traditional passport stamping while also addressing issues related to overstays within the Schengen area. This system mandates that non-EU travelers provide biometric data — including fingerprints and a facial image — the first time they enter the EU for a short visit.
Long queues and rising passenger frustration
The phased rollout of the EES commenced in October and reached full operation recently. However, data provided by ACI Europe, an airport lobby group, indicates that since the system became fully operational, many passengers are facing wait times of two to three hours or longer during peak travel periods. Olivier Jankovec, the chief of ACI Europe, expressed concern about the potential for worsening conditions as travel volumes typically increase during the summer months. He stated, “With traffic volumes set to rise further in the coming weeks and months, as is customary during the summer season, we are deeply concerned about the situation worsening and becoming unmanageable.”
Operational challenges and responses
In response to these delays, ACI is advocating for border control authorities to have the ability to suspend the system in instances where wait times become excessive. However, the European Commission disagrees, asserting that the responsibility lies with Member States to adequately staff border control to alleviate delays. Markus Lammert, the spokesperson for internal affairs, remarked, “It is up to Member States to ensure the proper implementation of the EES on the ground.”
Reports from various airports across Europe indicate that the launch of the EES has not gone smoothly. For instance, at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, lines were so long over the recent weekend that they stretched outside the terminal. Additionally, ACI and the Airlines for Europe lobby reported instances of flights departing with passengers missing due to prolonged wait times. Notably, one flight to the U.K. had 51 missing passengers at the time of departure, and other flights faced similar issues, such as a Milan to Manchester flight that left with over 100 passengers trapped in a queue.
Despite the EES being designed for efficiency, allowing biometric data uploads through self-service kiosks, many passengers are experiencing lengthy waits before reaching these booths. While the registration process itself takes approximately 70 seconds, the overall experience is hindered by significant queues. Paolini, a representative from Italy’s Autonomous Police Union, noted that some border agents are manually entering data, further compounding delays.
In light of these operational issues, three airport officials, who requested anonymity, reported that the EES faced outages at several Italian airports on Friday, with complications persisting into the following days. Meanwhile, airports in Portugal temporarily ceased biometric data collection over the weekend to minimize disruptions, and Belgium also paused data collection efforts.
Although a dedicated app to streamline the entry process has been introduced, it is currently limited in functionality; while it can be used for data uploads in Sweden, its application in Portugal is restricted to a questionnaire only.
In defense of the EES, Lammert highlighted its impact, stating that it has successfully recorded over 52 million entries and exits. Furthermore, he pointed out that 27,000 refusals of entry have been logged, with almost 700 individuals identified as potential security threats to the Union.