The European Union's new Entry/Exit System (EES), which requires biometric checks for non-EU travellers, may take up to two years to stabilise, according to a senior EU border official. Uku Särekanno, a director of Frontex, said some member states are struggling to implement the system, raising fears of summer travel chaos.
The EES, fully rolled out on 10 April, requires passengers from non-EU countries to register fingerprints and facial images at the border. While the system can be suspended during peak periods until September, Särekanno warned that the first enrolment is the most challenging. He stated, 'If a person is visiting the EU again, they don’t have to go through the same process, so they can have a more fast track of entry.'
Mark Tanzer, chief executive of the UK travel association Abta, said the system could dampen demand for EU holidays. 'The rollout of the EU entry/exit system … is creating an unhelpful, and potentially damaging, backdrop for summer travel to EU destinations,' he said. He urged destinations to use contingency flexibility to suspend biometric registration where queues are unacceptably long.
In May, French police temporarily suspended checks at the Port of Dover, and Greece announced it would suspend biometric checks for British travellers until September. Shaun Morton, chief executive of On the Beach, noted that later bookings are creating uncertainty, but he expects the summer travel market to grow overall this year.
