Chaos looms over EU entry points as new border checks take effect

BRUSSELS — Passengers arriving in the EU from third countries on Sunday should brace for long waits as the bloc’s new automated registration Entry/Exit System procedure goes live.

“Airlines feeding into the big hubs run on tight schedules, so even a few minutes delay at border control can throw off connections,” said Montserrat Barriga, director general of the European Regions Airline Association lobby.

The system will be rolled out gradually over six months, meaning not all crossing points will use it immediately.

Non-EU nationals will need to stop for a longer time before a passport control officer or use self-service kiosks at airports, ports and international rail terminals to provide fingerprints and have their photo taken. On subsequent internal Schengen border crossings, travellers will not need to repeat the registration, as their data on file will be used to record their entries and exits digitally.

Biometric data is retained in the EES system for three years, which is extended to five if no exit has been recorded.

The system is being introduced in all Schengen zone countries — EU countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland — EU members Ireland and Cyprus aren’t included.

EES will replace the current system of manually stamping passports, which doesn’t allow for automatic detection of people who have exceeded their authorized stay of 90 days within 180 days.

“The Entry/Exit System is the digital backbone of our new common European migration and asylum framework,” said Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner.

In the first six months, the two systems will coexist, meaning travelers may have to go through both passport and EES procedures. It becomes fully operational on April 10, when it will replace manual passport stamps. 

That’s making national authorities nervous about possible chaos.

Paris is bracing for more problems than other EU countries because France is the world’s leading tourist destination, with over 100 million visitors in 2024.

“If tomorrow we had to pass all the passengers of a long-haul flight from China through EES, you’d triple the waiting time at the border,” said a French interior ministry official, speaking on the condition of being granted anonymity.

“The additional formalities required by the EES will inevitably increase waiting times for travelers from third countries,” they added.

The EU said the EES could be temporarily suspended during the first six months of implementation if wait times become too long or there are technical issues.

“That’s why the phased rollout is so important, it gives airports and airlines some breathing space to adapt,” Barriga said.

The Independent reported that only three countries — Estonia, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic — will have the EES in place for all arrivals and departures on Sunday.

Germany announced that only Düsseldorf Airport would implement EES from Sunday, with Munich and Frankfurt airports following later. In Italy, Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa Airports will be using the system as of Monday. The Netherlands will implement EES at Rotterdam The Hague Airport on Oct. 27 and at Amsterdam Schiphol on Nov. 3.

Spain will only use the system for one flight into Madrid on Sunday, before gradually spreading it.

According to the French official, France will hire an additional 230 border guards at the 120 French entry points to the Schengen area to handle the extra workload as the system is gradually introduced.

Some airports have disclosed details about their capabilities. Brussels Airport, for example, said it has 61 self-service EES registration kiosks.

“It is important to underline that the management of border crossing points lies with the member states, not with airport operators,” said Federico Bonaudi, director of facilitation at airport lobby ACI Europe.

For months, the lobby has expressed concerns about “the uncertainty about how the system will perform when all the member states connect to it” as of Sunday.

“Thus far, only partial tests have been done,” Bonaudi said.

“The persistent understaffing of border police in certain member states” is among the concerns raised by ACI Europe. In addition, “the communications campaign targeting the travelling public to raise their awareness has been launched late in our view.”

Despite these issues, “at this stage, all the necessary legal safeguards and tools have been put in place to minimize disruptions and delays on the first day of operations and the days ensuing,” Bonaudi added.

The Commission set up a preregistration app aimed at making border crossings faster.

However, Sweden is the only country that has confirmed it will use the app.

Victor Goury-Laffont contributed reporting.