British holidaymakers heading to European countries this summer have been warned to expect delays of up to six hours at airports due to the EU's new Entry and Exit System (EES). The system requires travellers from outside the bloc to provide personal information, submit fingerprints, and have their photograph captured, with all details verified upon departure.
Rafael Schvartzman, vice-president for Europe at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), described the changes as a "hard risk" for travellers, who may face lengthy queues and potentially miss their flights. He stated: "What we are seeing is a very hard risk of really challenging times or waiting times, talking about expectations of three, four, five, six hours which is unacceptable. We know for a fact there are many cases where people have lost flights or their connectivity."
According to GB News, these disruptions have already caused chaos for hundreds of passengers. Travel expert Jürgen Himmelmann, co-founder of Global Work & Travel, urged Brits not to make a "costly mistake" by arriving at the airport with an outdated mindset. He advised: "If you're travelling through an airport affected by EES checks, your priority should be getting through security and passport control as quickly as possible. The shops, restaurants and lounges can wait."
Himmelmann added that many airports now have amenities beyond passport control, allowing travellers to relax once they have cleared security. He warned that queues can build rapidly and move far slower than expected, increasing the risk of missing flights.
