"Arriving Three Hours Early at Airports? Not Enough" ... Six-Hour Delays at European Airports Explained

EU Biometric Entry Procedures in Disarray
Frequent Errors in Fingerprint and Facial Registration
Airport Wait Times Reach Up to Six Hours
Industry Calls for Temporary Suspension During Peak Season

The European Union (EU) has launched the new Entry Exit System (EES), resulting in severe congestion during immigration procedures at major airports. Getty Images

At airports, arriving three hours prior to departure is generally considered a “safe buffer.” However, this summer in Europe, even that may not be enough. The new Entry Exit System (EES) introduced by the European Union (EU) has been fully implemented, causing severe congestion at immigration procedures in major airports. With travel demand expected to surge ahead of the summer vacation season, some voices are now calling for a temporary suspension of the system.

Kiosk Malfunctions and Duplicate Inspections Cause Confusion

According to the Financial Times (FT) on June 28 (local time), European airport operators have expressed concerns about large-scale congestion during the summer and have called for temporarily omitting the EES process during the peak season.

Image to aid understanding of the article. Pixabay

The EES is a biometric-based border control system that registers fingerprints and facial data for short-term visitors from non-EU countries. It was introduced to move away from manual inspection and stamp-based procedures, with the aim of increasing border control efficiency and preventing illegal stays.

After a pilot program in October last year, the system was gradually expanded and fully implemented in April this year; however, unexpected bottlenecks have been occurring on site. Automated registration kiosks have been experiencing frequent errors, and there have even been instances where passengers who have already completed registration are required to undergo re-inspection, dramatically increasing waiting times.

"Up to Six Hours of Waiting"... Concerns Over Peak Season Chaos

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecast that, at some airports, waiting times at immigration could reach up to six hours. In particular, congestion is likely to worsen during the summer peak season as a large influx of visitors from non-EU countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States is expected.

Marco Troncone, CEO of the company operating Rome Airport, stated, "The current level of concern is extremely high," adding, "Given the passenger volume during the peak season, it will be difficult to maintain the current system as is." Among airport operators, there is a growing consensus that the EES process needs to be temporarily relaxed or omitted during the peak season.

Image to aid understanding of the article. Pixabay

In fact, it has been reported that some airports have partially suspended the application of the EES or deferred the procedure for passengers from certain countries in order to alleviate congestion.

Equipment and Staffing Shortages... Structural Limitations Cited

Analysts point out that the chaos is due not only to technical defects but also to a lack of preparation. In some countries, delays in the introduction of equipment or overdue software updates have resulted in malfunctioning systems.

Additionally, as different countries use varying equipment and procedures, the lack of uniformity in airport operations is adding to user confusion. Despite the introduction of automation, staffing levels have not kept pace, paradoxically resulting in an increase in manual procedures.

EU: “Effects of Pre-existing Issues”… Disputes Over Responsibility

The European Commission maintains that the congestion is not solely due to the EES itself. Authorities have explained that existing structural factors—such as staff shortages at airports, infrastructure limitations, and the concentration of flights at specific times—are the main causes of increased waiting times. They also highlighted that certain relaxation measures are being permitted, such as temporarily applying flexibility to biometric procedures ahead of the peak season.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.