New EU border system tripling time at passport control, airport boss says
Summary
The European Union's new Entry Exit System (EES) for passport control has significantly increased waiting times for travelers, especially at Rome's main airport, where times have nearly tripled despite some improvements. The EES requires non-EU visitors to provide fingerprints and photos when entering and leaving the Schengen zone, but technical problems and slow processes have caused long queues and missed flights at several European airports.Key Facts
- The EU introduced the Entry Exit System (EES) to register fingerprints and photos of non-EU visitors entering the Schengen area, which has 29 countries.
- The system started being used in October and combines automated kiosks and border officers for some travelers, like children under 12.
- At Rome’s Fiumicino airport, wait times at passport control increased from 7 minutes to 20 minutes for UK nationals, with some passengers reporting waits over an hour or two.
- Ryanair warned travelers to expect longer delays when entering Europe due to the EES rollout.
- Some airports, like Faro in Portugal, reported technical issues but said wait times should improve quickly.
- Fiumicino airport’s Chief Aviation Officer said the current system is too complex and needs urgent fixes, including reducing repeated steps.
- Only Sweden and Portugal currently use the EU’s pre-registration app to help speed up the EES process.
- The European Commission says most airports see limited problems and promises continued support to improve the system.
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