A new report from Airports Council International (ACI) Europe warns that the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES), introduced in October 2025, is already lengthening border-control processing times by up to 70 percent and generating queues of three hours at some airports. Although initial teething problems have been most visible at hubs in France, Spain and Portugal, Helsinki-Vantaa—where the system is in pilot mode—recorded a 55-minute peak wait for UK and US nationals on 18 December.
Under EES, visa-exempt third-country travellers must register facial and fingerprint biometrics at kiosks. ACI cites software outages, kiosk malfunctions and border-guard shortages as root causes of the congestion.
The registration threshold is scheduled to jump from today’s 10 percent to 35 percent of travellers on 9 January 2026. If the glitches persist, ACI warns of “systemic disruption” during Finland’s peak winter-holiday season, when Lapland charter traffic triples.
![EU Entry/Exit System Triggers Multi-Hour Queues—Helsinki Airport Braces for Post-Holiday Surge]()
For travellers who want to ensure all their documentation and pre-travel authorisations are in order before arriving at Helsinki-Vantaa, VisaHQ offers a streamlined solution. Its Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) aggregates the latest EES guidance, visa policies and health-declaration requirements, and can even arrange concierge assistance for biometric enrolment preparation—saving both individual passengers and corporate travel departments valuable time at the kiosks.
Finavia, the Finnish airport operator, says it has redeployed staff to guide passengers and may open an overflow biometric-capture zone in Terminal 1. Finnair has updated travel advisories, recommending that non-EU passengers arrive three hours before departure and pre-fill data in the forthcoming EU mobile app once released.
For corporate travel managers, the practical takeaway is to pad layover times for connecting itineraries through Helsinki and budget for possible missed connections. Companies with high volumes of UK-based assignees should also communicate the one-time biometric-enrolment requirement to avoid surprise delays.
The European Commission will review ACI’s findings in early January. If no quick fix emerges, member states could seek a temporary suspension over the Easter travel peak, officials hinted.
Under EES, visa-exempt third-country travellers must register facial and fingerprint biometrics at kiosks. ACI cites software outages, kiosk malfunctions and border-guard shortages as root causes of the congestion.
The registration threshold is scheduled to jump from today’s 10 percent to 35 percent of travellers on 9 January 2026. If the glitches persist, ACI warns of “systemic disruption” during Finland’s peak winter-holiday season, when Lapland charter traffic triples.
For travellers who want to ensure all their documentation and pre-travel authorisations are in order before arriving at Helsinki-Vantaa, VisaHQ offers a streamlined solution. Its Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) aggregates the latest EES guidance, visa policies and health-declaration requirements, and can even arrange concierge assistance for biometric enrolment preparation—saving both individual passengers and corporate travel departments valuable time at the kiosks.
Finavia, the Finnish airport operator, says it has redeployed staff to guide passengers and may open an overflow biometric-capture zone in Terminal 1. Finnair has updated travel advisories, recommending that non-EU passengers arrive three hours before departure and pre-fill data in the forthcoming EU mobile app once released.
For corporate travel managers, the practical takeaway is to pad layover times for connecting itineraries through Helsinki and budget for possible missed connections. Companies with high volumes of UK-based assignees should also communicate the one-time biometric-enrolment requirement to avoid surprise delays.
The European Commission will review ACI’s findings in early January. If no quick fix emerges, member states could seek a temporary suspension over the Easter travel peak, officials hinted.
