The European Union's new Entry Exit System (EES) has nearly tripled the time it takes for British nationals to pass through passport control at airports, according to an airport chief. At Rome's Fiumicino Airport, the average processing time for UK passengers has risen from seven minutes to 20 minutes.
Airport Chiefs Demand Urgent Fixes
Ivan Bassato, Chief Aviation Officer at Fiumicino Airport, told the BBC: "I think we need to fix urgently certain aspects of the system." The EES was fully rolled out in April 2026 and requires travelers from third-party countries, including the UK, to register their fingerprints and have their photo taken to enter the Schengen Area, which comprises 29 European countries.
Once the initial biometric data is collected, the digital border system is designed to allow travelers to enter and exit Europe with only a facial scan for up to three years. However, many border points are reportedly collecting the same initial scans multiple times, causing delays.
Ryanair Warns of Summer Queues
Ryanair warned on July 15 that millions of UK families traveling to Europe this summer should prepare for long queues at passport control due to the "failed" EES. The carrier identified hotspots where delays are most severe: Lisbon, Tenerife South, Madrid, Lanzarote, Alicante, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, Verona, Paris Beauvais, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt Hahn, Krakow, and Budapest.
Neal McMahon, Ryanair's Chief Operations Officer, said: "The reality is that the EES system isn’t working properly and families are paying the price for a system that does not work months after launch. Passengers should not be the testing ground for unfinished border infrastructure." He urged EU countries to be more flexible in applying the system to give airports and border authorities time to address the issues.
Delays at UK Soil Border Points
The system has also caused delays at borders where French checkpoints operate on UK soil, such as the Port of Dover. Doug Bannister, Chief Executive of the Port of Dover, said on July 14 that "absolutely everything" had been done to prepare for the summer getaway, but it was "very disappointing" that a new EES processing facility is not being used for cars because EU technology has not been activated.
The new Western Docks facility is equipped with 84 kiosks to record biometric details, but French authorities have not switched them on, and no date has been set for activation. Bannister told MPs the port will "face repeated episodes of severe congestion" this summer unless the EU permits more flexibility in EES, which has not happened. He said: "We delivered our Western Docks facility after investing £40 million of our capital. We were under constant pressure to have it be operational, pursuant to the timeline that was EES, and it’s been specifically designed to handle our peak volumes safely and efficiently, and we can’t use it. It is very disappointing."
Faro Airport Sees Wait Times Triple
At Faro Airport in Portugal, passport control chief Superintendent Pedro Oliveira said a 10-minute wait previously can now take 30 minutes. He told the BBC that an IT system shared by countries using EES sometimes crashes across all member states, requiring a few minutes to reboot. Oliveira insisted that while some queuing is expected due to the high number of UK passengers, travelers should not be "afraid" as things will still move quickly.
Bassato said Fiumicino has yet to reach the standard set before the EES and the airport was "absolutely not okay" with waits of an hour or two.
