Biometric border chaos in Milan

More than 100 easyJet passengers were left behind in Milan after biometric border checks created hours-long queues at passport control. (thelocal.it) The disruption hit an easyJet flight from Milan Linate to Manchester on Sunday, April 12, when most passengers could not reach the gate before departure. One report put the number at more than 120 travellers, and said one passenger was stranded for four days. (thelocal.it) (getaway.co.za) The bottleneck was tied to the European Union’s Entry/Exit System, or EES, which records passport details, fingerprints and a facial image for non-European Union travellers entering or leaving the Schengen area for short stays. The system became fully operational at all participating external borders on April 10, 2026. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) (eeas.europa.eu) For first-time registrations, the new process replaces a passport stamp with digital enrollment, and the European Commission said later crossings should need only a quicker verification. EU officials said more than 45 million border crossings were logged during the phased rollout before full activation. (commission.europa.eu) (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) British passengers are among the travellers now subject to the checks, because EES applies to non-EU nationals making short stays in the Schengen zone. The Local described the Milan incident as the first major disruption seen in Italy linked to the system. (thelocal.it) (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) Reports from Italy in recent months had already pointed to long queues, fingerprint failures and facial-scan problems at some airports as the rollout expanded. ANSA reported in October 2025 that officials were already warning the long-delayed system could slow border processing for travellers. (thelocal.it) (ansa.it) The Milan episode also landed at a busy airport for the carrier. easyJet said in 2025 that it was opening a base at Milan Linate and would station five aircraft there from spring that year. (easyjet.com) easyJet’s public guidance tells passengers to monitor its flight tracker and says travellers affected by delays or cancellations should check booking updates online or in the app. The airline’s help pages do not publicly detail the Milan case, but they do set out the channels passengers are told to use during disruptions. (easyjet.com 1) (easyjet.com 2) The EES was built to automate border records and flag overstays without passport stamps. In Milan, the first days of full operation showed how extra checks at one passport-control point can cascade into missed departures before the summer rush begins. (consilium.europa.eu) (thelocal.it)