The new EU entry/exit system (EES), which has already caused hours-long delays at major airports, may not 'stabilise' for up to two years, according to a senior EU border official. Uku Särekanno, a director of Frontex, told an event hosted by the UK travel association Abta that some member states are 'struggling' to implement the system, which requires non-EU passengers to register biometric data at the border.
The EES, fully rolled out on 10 April, involves taking fingerprints and facial images on first entry, with subsequent visits allowing faster processing. Särekanno warned that the initial enrolment phase is the most challenging, and that the situation could take one to two years to stabilise. EU rules allow temporary suspension of checks to avoid queues, but this flexibility is expected to end in September.
Concerns are mounting that the checks could lead to summer travel chaos, dampening demand among British holidaymakers. Mark Tanzer, chief executive of Abta, said the EES rollout creates an 'unhelpful and potentially damaging backdrop' for summer travel to EU destinations. He urged destinations to use contingency measures to suspend biometric registration where queues are unacceptably long.
In May, French police temporarily suspended extra checks at the Port of Dover, and the Greek tourism minister confirmed Greece would suspend biometric checks for British travellers until September. Meanwhile, holiday bookings have also been hit by uncertainty over the Middle East conflict and rising living costs, with consumers increasingly booking later in the year.
Shaun Morton, chief executive of On the Beach, noted that shorter lead times create uncertainty and make planning difficult. Despite a 30% drop in the company's shares this year, Morton expects the summer travel market to grow overall, predicting that the late booking trend will reverse when conditions allow.
