EU border system snags
Europe’s new biometric Entry/Exit System is causing long queues and flight disruption after switching passport stamping to facial‑scan and fingerprint checks across 29 countries. (traveltomorrow.com). Airlines’ lobby groups have asked the European Commission to allow partial or full suspensions as airports report chaos, and reports flag unacceptably long waits that could make travellers miss flights (euronews.com), (manchestereveningnews.co.uk).
Europe’s new digital border check is now fully live across 29 countries, and the first days have brought airport queues, missed flights and calls to pause parts of it. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) The Entry/Exit System became fully operational on 10 April 2026 after a six-month rollout that began on 12 October 2025, according to the European Commission and eu-LISA, the European Union agency that runs large border databases. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) (eulisa.europa.eu) The system replaces passport stamps for non-European Union visitors on short stays with digital records that log a traveller’s name, passport details, facial image, fingerprints, and the place and date of entry and exit. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) Airports and airlines say that extra biometric checks are now slowing border lines at major hubs. Euronews reported queues of up to three hours over the weekend, with passengers stranded after missing flights. (euronews.com) Airports Council International Europe and Airlines for Europe said on 14 April that the European Commission should allow “full and partial suspension” of the system where waits become excessive, at least until the end of summer. (euronews.com) (aci-europe.org) Those industry groups say some airports were already using partial or full suspensions during peak periods before 10 April, and that those workarounds were “essential” to keep queues from growing even longer. (aci-europe.org) The European Commission says the system is meant to tighten external border checks by automatically spotting people who overstay short-visit limits and by recording refusals of entry in one database instead of relying on ink stamps. It said more than 45 million border crossings were logged during the phased rollout. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu 1) (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu 2) The Commission also said on 10 April that registering a traveller takes about 70 seconds when the system is working at full capacity, a benchmark that airports say has not matched conditions on the ground at some border posts. (aci-europe.org) For travellers, the practical change is simple but slower: first-time registration can now mean stopping for a face scan and fingerprint capture instead of getting a passport stamp and moving on. After a rollout meant to smooth the switch, Europe is now testing that process at full scale. (travel-europe.europa.eu)
