EU border lines spike
The new EU Entry/Exit biometric system has produced long border‑control queues and operational snags, with The Independent reporting 122 easyJet passengers were left behind in Milan after delays at control (independent.co.uk). Euronews describes the rollout as a “systemic failure” and says airline groups are asking the European Commission to allow full or partial suspension of the system until summer to reduce wait times reported in hubs like Geneva ( ).
Europe’s new biometric border system is now fully live, and some airports are seeing passport-control lines stretch for hours. (ec.europa.eu, euronews.com) The European Commission says the Entry/Exit System became fully operational on April 10, 2026, after a phased start that began on October 12, 2025. The system now covers 29 European countries using the Schengen border regime. (ec.europa.eu, gov.uk) Instead of stamping passports, border officers now log a traveler’s name, passport details, fingerprints, facial image, and the date and place of entry or exit in a digital record. The rules apply to non-European Union travelers entering for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, including Americans and Britons. (ec.europa.eu, travel.state.gov) The first full weekend exposed the bottleneck: Euronews reported queues of up to three hours, missed flights, and calls from airline groups for emergency flexibility. A joint industry warning in February had already said waits were running up to two hours in the rollout phase and could hit four hours in summer. (euronews.com, iata.org) One of the clearest examples came at Milan Linate, where an easyJet flight to Manchester left with only 34 of 156 booked passengers on board, leaving 122 behind after long border-control waits. The BBC said passengers faced queues of up to three hours before the April 12 departure. (independent.co.uk, bbc.co.uk) Airports Council International Europe, Airlines for Europe, and the International Air Transport Association told the European Commission on February 11 that understaffing, unresolved technology problems, and weak use of the Frontex pre-registration app were slowing processing. They asked Brussels to preserve the option for full or partial suspension of the system through October 2026 if lines worsen. (iata.org, a4e.eu) Airlines for Europe said on April 14 that three-hour border lines were not a “teething issue” but a “systemic failure.” The group said airlines support tighter border security, but not repeated delays that sit outside airline control. (euronews.com) The Commission’s public case for the system has not changed. It says digital records will help detect overstayers automatically, spot fake documents more easily, and eventually expand the use of automated border gates and self-service kiosks. (ec.europa.eu) For travelers, the immediate change is simple: the first entry into the Schengen area can now take longer because biometrics have to be captured at the border. For airports, the next test is the summer peak that airline and airport groups have been warning about since February. (gov.uk, iata.org)
