Europe border delays rising
The EU’s new Entry/Exit System rollout is prompting warnings of long waits — UK holidaymakers are being told to expect up to four‑hour delays at busy border checkpoints as fingerprints and facial photos get registered. At the same time airlines reported 1,388 delays and 51 cancellations across London, Paris, Istanbul, Frankfurt and other hubs in recent reports. (express.co.uk) (travelandtourworld.com)
The EU’s Entry/Exit System went live in a phased roll‑out from 12 October 2025 with member states scheduled to complete implementation by 10 April 2026 under the Commission timetable. (travel-europe.europa.eu) Brussels has signalled “flexibilities” to ease pressure on summer travel, allowing member states limited partial suspensions or staggered deployments rather than a hard cut‑over in peak months. (euronews.com) (businesstravelnewseurope.com) Operational teething has produced multi‑hour lines at several hubs: Geneva recorded up to three‑hour waits, Brussels saw reports of three‑hour queues in the week after launch, and local reports from Lisbon cited instances of waits reaching seven hours. (visahq.com) (schengenvisainfo.com) (traveltourister.com) Airline and airport trackers have recorded widespread disruption in parallel: one roundup tallied 51 cancellations and 1,388 delays across London, Paris, Istanbul, Frankfurt and other European hubs in recent reports. (nomadlawyer.org) Independent monitoring groups also logged separate spikes earlier in March, with AirHelp reporting 217 cancellations and 806 delays across key European airports on March 5, 2026. (airhelp.co.uk) Airlines, airport operators and travel trade bodies publicly urged the Commission to pause or soften the April deadline, citing risks of “massive delays” over the summer if phased roll‑outs are not matched by extra kiosks and staff at major gateways. (independent.co.uk) The UK set out preparatory steps in a written parliamentary statement on March 26, 2026, noting the phased nature of the roll‑out and contingency planning as member states bring checkpoints online. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)
