The first Christmas travel rush since Finland activated the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) is exposing serious growing pains. According to an Airports Council International Europe snapshot released on 21 December, border-control processing for visa-exempt third-country nationals at Helsinki-Vantaa is now up to 70 percent slower than last year. Peak waits of 55 minutes were recorded on 18 December for UK and US passengers who had to enrol fingerprints and a facial template at biometric kiosks before reaching a manual booth.
The root problem is capacity. The airport has installed 36 kiosks, but software bugs and a shortage of trained border guards mean as many as a third are offline during rush periods, creating snaking queues that spill into the departures hall. Finavia, the airport operator, has opened overflow “biometric zones” and diverted some departing passengers through unused arrival gates; airlines are urging travellers to arrive at least three hours early.
To minimise the stress these delays can cause, travellers may find it helpful to consult VisaHQ, which tracks Finland’s constantly evolving border requirements and offers step-by-step assistance with any necessary visas or travel authorisations. You can confirm whether you need additional documentation and start the application process well before departure at https://www.visahq.com/finland/
![EU Entry/Exit System causes holiday queues at Helsinki-Vantaa airport]()
Under EES every first-time visitor from outside the EU/Schengen area must complete biometric registration. The data are valid for three years, after which travellers can use automated e-gates. Authorities expect the proportion of passengers needing first-time enrolment to jump from 10 percent today to about 35 percent on 9 January, when charter flights to Lapland peak, heightening the risk of gridlock.
Corporate travel managers are already padding connection times, issuing step-by-step kiosk guides and exploring concierge services for VIPs. Technology vendors are racing to integrate pre-registration features into mobile apps so that travellers can upload biometric data before arrival; the European Commission is studying temporary derogations if bottlenecks persist into Easter 2026.
For the 2 million non-EU visitors who transit Helsinki each year—many of them transferring between Asia and North America—the message is clear: schedule longer layovers, carry printed proof of onward travel in case of missed connections and monitor Finavia alerts in real time.
The root problem is capacity. The airport has installed 36 kiosks, but software bugs and a shortage of trained border guards mean as many as a third are offline during rush periods, creating snaking queues that spill into the departures hall. Finavia, the airport operator, has opened overflow “biometric zones” and diverted some departing passengers through unused arrival gates; airlines are urging travellers to arrive at least three hours early.
To minimise the stress these delays can cause, travellers may find it helpful to consult VisaHQ, which tracks Finland’s constantly evolving border requirements and offers step-by-step assistance with any necessary visas or travel authorisations. You can confirm whether you need additional documentation and start the application process well before departure at https://www.visahq.com/finland/
Under EES every first-time visitor from outside the EU/Schengen area must complete biometric registration. The data are valid for three years, after which travellers can use automated e-gates. Authorities expect the proportion of passengers needing first-time enrolment to jump from 10 percent today to about 35 percent on 9 January, when charter flights to Lapland peak, heightening the risk of gridlock.
Corporate travel managers are already padding connection times, issuing step-by-step kiosk guides and exploring concierge services for VIPs. Technology vendors are racing to integrate pre-registration features into mobile apps so that travellers can upload biometric data before arrival; the European Commission is studying temporary derogations if bottlenecks persist into Easter 2026.
For the 2 million non-EU visitors who transit Helsinki each year—many of them transferring between Asia and North America—the message is clear: schedule longer layovers, carry printed proof of onward travel in case of missed connections and monitor Finavia alerts in real time.
