A new Airports Council International Europe report shows the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), launched in October 2025, is lengthening border-control processing times by up to 70 percent. Although worst delays occurred in southern hubs, Helsinki-Vantaa recorded a 55-minute peak wait for UK and US nationals on 18 December. Under EES, visa-exempt travellers must register facial and fingerprint biometrics at kiosks, but software glitches and staff shortages have hampered roll-out.
Registration volumes are set to jump from 10 percent to 35 percent of passengers on 9 January 2026, raising fears of “systemic disruption” during Finland’s peak Lapland charter season. Finavia plans overflow biometric zones and urges non-EU passengers to arrive three hours early.
For corporate travel managers, the advice is to pad connection times through Helsinki and alert staff that one-time biometric enrolment is now mandatory. Companies with large UK workforces—no longer EU citizens—face the greatest impact.
![EU Entry/Exit System Causes Long Queues — Helsinki Airport Issues Holiday Warning]()
An easy way for companies and individual travelers to stay ahead of the new requirements is to lean on professional visa and passport specialists. VisaHQ, for instance, continuously tracks EES updates and can pre-screen documentation for passengers heading to Finland, streamlining compliance and reducing airport surprises. Its Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) provides step-by-step guidance, optional courier services, and corporate dashboards that HR teams can plug into existing travel workflows.
The European Commission will review ACI’s findings in early January. Member states may seek a temporary suspension if bottlenecks persist into Easter. Travel-tech firms are racing to integrate EES pre-registration into mobile apps, a development that could eventually restore border efficiency.
Until then, HR and mobility teams should circulate updated airport guidance, account for potential overtime costs for delayed travellers and consider concierge services for VIP movements.
Registration volumes are set to jump from 10 percent to 35 percent of passengers on 9 January 2026, raising fears of “systemic disruption” during Finland’s peak Lapland charter season. Finavia plans overflow biometric zones and urges non-EU passengers to arrive three hours early.
For corporate travel managers, the advice is to pad connection times through Helsinki and alert staff that one-time biometric enrolment is now mandatory. Companies with large UK workforces—no longer EU citizens—face the greatest impact.
An easy way for companies and individual travelers to stay ahead of the new requirements is to lean on professional visa and passport specialists. VisaHQ, for instance, continuously tracks EES updates and can pre-screen documentation for passengers heading to Finland, streamlining compliance and reducing airport surprises. Its Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) provides step-by-step guidance, optional courier services, and corporate dashboards that HR teams can plug into existing travel workflows.
The European Commission will review ACI’s findings in early January. Member states may seek a temporary suspension if bottlenecks persist into Easter. Travel-tech firms are racing to integrate EES pre-registration into mobile apps, a development that could eventually restore border efficiency.
Until then, HR and mobility teams should circulate updated airport guidance, account for potential overtime costs for delayed travellers and consider concierge services for VIP movements.
