UK travellers could face long queues and possible delays at European airports from October, as the EU rolls out a new border system that may cause disruption. The Entry/Exit System (EES) will require non-EU passengers, including British holidaymakers, to provide fingerprints and facial scans when entering the Schengen Area for the first time. After that, a simple face scan will be used for future visits.
The scheme will begin its phased rollout from October 12, depending on how ready each airport is. But by April 10, 2026 the system is expected to be fully in place across the EU. Travellers flying into Europe may notice newly installed machines in arrivals areas, designed to record biometric information before allowing people to pass through. The aim is to speed up border checks, but experts have warned the new process could go wrong during busy periods.
Aviation analyst Oliver Ranson told Simon Calder’s Independent Travel Podcast that while most airports cope well in normal circumstances, even minor issues with new systems can lead to chaos.
“Almost every airport works fine when everything is running smoothly,” Ranson said. “But when new systems are introduced, small glitches can make the whole arrivals process collapse very quickly.”
If queues build up, passengers could be forced to wait on planes, or flights may even be diverted if arrival halls become overcrowded.
Ranson’s research shows that airports in southern and eastern Europe are likely to be hit hardest, particularly those that deal with a high volume of non-Schengen passengers.
The top 10 most at-risk airports include hubs in Greece, Romania, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and the Czech Republic.
Although no Spanish airports are on the top 10 list, busy destinations such as Malaga, Alicante and Palma de Mallorca are monitoring the rollout closely.
Each receives millions of British passengers during the summer months.
While large airports like Madrid Barajas and Barcelona El Prat are better prepared for huge numbers of arrivals, smaller tourist airports could face challenges if delays mount.
EU officials insist enough kiosks and staff will be available by the time the system launches.
But union sources have raised concerns that not all personnel have received full training, which could lead to problems during peak times.
Airports such as Paris Charles de Gaulle and Faro in Portugal, which handle a large number of UK flights, are not considered high risk due to the way they manage crowd flow in short bursts.
Still, travellers flying during half-term or weekend holidays are being urged to expect possible delays as the system goes live.
As Ranson put it: “It only takes a small failure for things to get very gnarly, very quickly.”