EU passport queues swell

Europe’s new digital border checks are producing passport-control lines of up to three hours at some airports, with travelers in Paris reporting missed flights after the system became fully mandatory on April 10. (travel-europe.europa.eu, home-affairs.ec.europa.eu, connexionfrance.com) The Entry/Exit System replaces passport stamps with a digital record for non-European Union travelers entering 29 countries for short stays. At the first crossing, border officers collect a facial image, fingerprints and passport data before the traveler can proceed. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu, travel-europe.europa.eu) The European Commission says the rollout began on October 12, 2025 and reached full operation on April 10, 2026 after more than 45 million border crossings were registered during the phased launch. UK government guidance says British travelers are among those affected because the checks apply to non-EU visitors entering the Schengen area for short stays. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu, gov.uk) The bottleneck is hitting the first biometric scan, which takes longer than a passport stamp and has to be done at the border. The official EU travel site says countries introduced data collection gradually during the six-month transition, but all border points are now expected to run the full process. (travel-europe.europa.eu, home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) Paris airports had warned before full activation that the system could create congestion during the summer travel season. Connexion France reported one family missed a flight from Paris despite arriving three hours early, while airport and airline groups have pressed Brussels for flexibility during peak periods. (connexionfrance.com, connexionfrance.com, euronews.com) Travel companies are already adjusting their advice. TUI says customers should allow extra time at the airport because border formalities can take longer under the new system, and media reports this week said some operators were telling passengers to arrive two to three hours before departure. (tui.co.uk, msn.com) Another rule change is still coming. The European Travel Information and Authorisation System, a pre-trip approval for visa-exempt visitors, is scheduled to start in the last quarter of 2026, and the EU says travelers do not need to apply yet. (travel-europe.europa.eu, travel-europe.europa.eu) The fee attached to that authorization is no longer the €7 figure many travelers saw in earlier guidance. The official ETIAS site says the European Commission raised the planned application fee to €20 in July 2025, ahead of the system’s launch later in 2026. (travel-europe.europa.eu, travel-europe.europa.eu) For now, the practical change is simple: the stamp is gone, the biometric check is in, and first-time non-EU arrivals should expect the longest waits while airports and border posts absorb the new process. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu, travel-europe.europa.eu)