EU border delays

Europe’s new Entry/Exit System is now fully live across the Schengen area, and its first weeks have brought long border queues, missed flights and stranded passengers. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) The European Commission says the system became fully operational on April 10, 2026, after a phased rollout that began on October 12, 2025. It replaces passport stamps with digital entry and exit records for non-European Union travelers on short stays. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) At the border, first-time travelers are asked for passport details, a facial image and fingerprints; later trips are meant to need only a quicker verification. The system applies across 29 European countries using the Entry/Exit System, while Cyprus and Ireland are outside it. (commission.europa.eu) The disruption has been visible at airports used heavily by British travelers. Yahoo reported that more than 100 EasyJet passengers and about 30 Ryanair passengers on Milan-to-Manchester routes were left behind after getting stuck in passport-control lines, with waits of up to three hours. (travel.yahoo.com) Airports Council International Europe and Airlines for Europe said the first weekend of full operation brought “passenger disruptions, delays and missed flights.” Airlines for Europe then asked the European Commission to allow full or partial suspension of the system through the end of summer where needed. (euronews.com) The Commission is describing the same system in very different terms. In its April 10 announcement, it said Entry/Exit System data had already logged more than 52 million entries and exits, more than 27,000 refusals of entry, and identified more than 700 people as security risks during the rollout period. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) Greece has become the clearest test of how much flexibility countries can use. Travel Weekly reported that the Greek Embassy in London posted on April 17 that British passport holders were “exempt from biometric registration” at Greek border points as of April 10, before the notice was later removed after confusion over whether that was legally possible. (travelweekly.co.uk) That matters because European Union rules do not provide for a blanket national opt-out from biometric registration once the system is in force. The official policy page says the system records fingerprints and facial images for non-European Union nationals entering for short stays and has been deployed at all Schengen external border crossing points. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) For passengers who miss a flight after hours in an immigration line, the compensation picture is narrow. Under United Kingdom and European Union passenger-rights rules, cash compensation is generally owed only when the airline is at fault, and airlines do not usually control passport control or border-force queues. (caa.co.uk; europa.eu) The official pitch is that the system should eventually speed up checks by replacing stamps with digital records and repeat verifications. For now, Europe’s new border line is often starting before the gate. (commission.europa.eu)