A senior member of Europe’s border agency has admitted that British holidaymakers will continue to face queues at EU airports for up to two years.
Uku Sarekanno, Deputy Executive Director of Frontex, told the ABTA Travel Matters conference in London that it will take ‘one to two years’ for the EU’s new Entry/Exit system (EES) to stabilise.
He said that implementing the EU-wide system, which requires arrivals from third countries – including Brits – to provide biometric data, was proving to be ‘quite a big challenge’.
However, he confirmed that from the end of this September, member states would no longer be allowed to suspend the biometric checks during busy periods, as they are currently allowed to do.
Uku said that during ‘the worst case scenarios’ when there are queues of ‘hundreds of people’, countries can take individual decisions to suspend checks, but he added: “It is a temporary relief. It is ending in September. We expect procedures will be in line by this time.”
He admitted that while some EU states are managing the new entry checks ‘really well’, others are struggling, but he said the situation will improve as more and more people complete the EES registration.
Once people have completed the initial fingerprint and facial recognition check, they should be required to provide only one biometric (usually facial recognition) on re-entry to the EU, which Uku said should speed up the process. However, anecdotal evidence suggests this isn’t the case, with many people being asked to complete both biotrics every time they re-enter the bloc.
“If there are practices which divert from that, then it probably needs to be corrected by the border-crossing member of state concerned,” said Uku.
“We are trying to ensure there is a coherent approach to border procedures. We are putting a lot of effort into ensuring that practices will be harmonised.
“If you look at the experience of other countries, including the UK, the US and Canada, it takes one to two years to make it as simple as possible.”
Uku also confirmed the new EU travel permit, ETIAS, will be rolled out from the last quarter of 2026. “We are talking about November,” he said, adding that the exact launch date will be announced ‘in the middle of the summer’.
“Soon we will be testing the mobile app that will be available for the public,” he added.
Once it is introduced, all UK passport holders will need an ETIAS to enter the EU for a short stay of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. It will cost €20 per person and will be valid for three years, or until the passport expires.
