EU border chaos (EES)

Europe’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) went fully operational on April 10, 2026, and has already triggered long queues at major Schengen border points. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) (euronews.com) Airports in Spain, Italy and France have reported waits of up to three hours and a spate of missed flights since the full rollout, industry and travel reports say. (travelandtourworld.com) At Milan Linate more than 100 easyJet passengers were stranded after an April 12 flight booked with 156 people left with only about 30–40 on board because biometric queues delayed boarding. (thetraveler.org) The EES replaces manual passport stamping with a centralised digital record that logs facial images, fingerprints and passport data for non‑EU short‑stay travellers, the European Commission says. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) Airport and airline bodies including ACI EUROPE and Airlines for Europe have publicly urged the Commission to introduce temporary “full and partial suspension” or other flexibility through the summer to ease congestion. (euronews.com) Greece has announced an exemption for British passport holders for the summer, saying UK visitors will not be required to provide fingerprints or facial biometrics at Greek border checkpoints. (biometricupdate.com) Athens says EES kiosks will remain available to other third‑country nationals, while the European Commission has said it has contacted Greek authorities to seek clarifications on the measure. (biometricupdate.com) The new rules also change procedures for superyacht crew and charter operations, because crew movements will be logged electronically rather than by passport stamp, industry guidance warns. (yachtcharterfleet.com) With EES deployed across all Schengen external border crossing points since April 10, airlines continue to press for summer relief while Brussels stresses the system is in place and under member‑state implementation. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu)