Overview
- The EU’s Entry/Exit System, which began requiring all non‑EU arrivals to register on Tuesday, has led airports to report waits that often reach two hours at peak times.
- The system takes fingerprints and a photo during a traveller’s first Schengen entry and then verifies them on later trips, using kiosks at big airports and border officers at smaller ones.
- Airports Council International and Airlines for Europe are asking the European Commission to let countries suspend or ease the checks during peak travel through the summer.
- Airports warn delays could worsen after the April 9–10 transition when national authorities lose the option to fully pause the system for operational reasons.
- The UK told travellers to allow extra time and funded more than £10 million for Eurostar, Eurotunnel and Dover for pre‑departure checks, while record Easter traffic from easyJet adds pressure at EU border posts.