Waiting times at European airports caused by the EU’s Entry-Exit System (EES) are still “unacceptably high” six months after the system was fully implemented, according to airport and airline groups.
An update from airports association ACI Europe and Airlines for Europe (A4E) said EES-related queues “remain excessive”, with waits of up to five hours “in the most extreme cases” and “routine” delays of more than two hours.
“The resulting queues keep exposing passengers to unnecessary hardship – including missing flights and connections – creating severe congestion across terminals and putting exceptional pressure on border guards, airport and airline staff,” said the two associations.
ACI Europe and A4E blamed several factors for these problems, including “inadequate” border control staffing and the “instability” of IT systems underpinning EES. They also cited the limited use of self-service kiosks and automated border control gates for longer wait times.
EES was fully implemented in April 2026, although the EU allowed for the system to be partially suspended over the summer at peak times. This dispensation ended in September, despite pleas by the travel industry for it to be extended until 2027.
“Six months into its full rollout, the system is not delivering on efficient border crossings and the promise of faster, more seamless travel remains unmet,” said Olivier Jankovec, ACI Europe’s director general, and Ourania Georgoutsakou, A4E’s managing director, in a joint statement.
“This is no longer a teething problem, nor can passengers, airports and airlines keep paying the price for avoidable disruption. The time for simply managing the symptoms is over.”
EES requires the collection of biometric data, including facial image scans and fingerprints, from passport holders of third countries, including the UK and US, when entering one of the 29 participating Schengen Area members.
The EU has insisted that the system “broadly worked well” this summer, despite fears from the travel industry of queues “chaos” at border control during peak travel periods.
ACI Europe and A4E have proposed a six-point plan designed to improve the operation of EES and fix its “structural problems”. These measures include “optimising” biometric verification, preventing duplicate EES profiles, upgrading the EU’s Travel to Europe pre-registration app and website, and restoring the ability to partially suspend the system when there are “excessive” queues.