Overview
- The Entry/Exit System, rolled out in April 2026, replaces passport stamping for non-EU travellers by recording arrivals and departures and collecting fingerprints and a facial image.
- Airlines and airport groups report repeated kiosk malfunctions, unreliable national interfaces and border staffing shortfalls that have lengthened passport-control waits to hours at multiple European hubs.
- A family said long EES queues in April forced them to miss their flight and incur about £1,969 in extra costs, and carriers have published lists of 15–16 airport 'hotspots' where delays recur.
- The Port of Dover has installed EES-capable kiosks that French authorities have not activated and warns of repeated severe congestion without broader EES flexibility.
- The industry wants the emergency power to suspend biometric checks extended past the current 6 September cutoff into 2027, while the European Commission says disruption is limited and continues talks with member states and operators; ETIAS has been postponed to 2027 because of related technical issues.