Overview
- The Entry‑Exit System (EES), which began rolling out in October 2025 and expanded in April 2026, requires non‑EU nationals to register a facial biometric and four fingerprints on first crossings.
- Airports and airlines report long, uneven queues and delays of up to three hours at airports in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy, with some passengers missing flights.
- The European Commission says EES has logged over 44.5 million entries and exits and more than 24,000 refusals of entry, which it says demonstrate security benefits.
- Member states are applying EES inconsistently, with some still wet‑stamping passports, Greece temporarily exempting UK visitors in April, and local short pauses being used to ease congestion.
- Problems with kiosks, central IT connectivity and understaffed border posts have left UK–France juxtaposed registration sites underused and make the dependent Etias travel‑authorisation launch unlikely to meet the Commission’s timetable.