Ireland’s tourism and corporate-travel industries are sounding the alarm over the EU Entry-Exit System (EES), the bloc-wide biometric border programme that will require every non-EU traveller to be fingerprinted and photographed on arrival. The Guardian reports that delays of up to three hours have already been recorded at major hub airports such as Madrid, Paris-CDG and Rome since a partial roll-out began last October. From 10 April the requirement will jump from sampling 35 % of third-country travellers to 100 %, just as the peak summer season gets under way.(theguardian.com)
Although Ireland is not in Schengen, most Irish holiday-makers and business travellers route through European hubs or enter the Schengen Area directly. Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) members say long queues on the continent could force travellers to schedule longer connections, pay for overnight hotels or reroute via the UK, adding cost and complexity to corporate itineraries. Airlines already face slot-coordination headaches at Dublin Airport; lengthy inbound processing times on the continent would compound those pressures.
For travellers trying to navigate these evolving border rules, VisaHQ can simplify the process. The firm’s Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) provides real-time updates on EES requirements, visa regulations and transit advice, and can arrange any needed documentation in advance—services that may help Irish passengers avoid last-minute surprises and minimise time spent in queues.
![Irish travel sector warns of summer grid-lock as EU biometric border checks expand]()
Industry bodies ACI Europe and ABTA have jointly asked Brussels to approve temporary derogations—such as staffing surges, phased registration targets or outright suspension on peak days—to avoid five-hour queues forecast by some airports. Irish‐owned carriers, including Aer Lingus and Ryanair, have called for a single, interoperable kiosk design so that data captured in one Schengen state can be reused at the next connection, reducing repeated scans.
Travel-risk consultants advising multinationals with Irish operations are urging employers to update travel-policy guidance before April. Recommendations include: allowing a minimum 90-minute transit for Schengen connections, encouraging staff to enrol in Registered Traveller schemes where offered, and carrying proof of onward bookings to smooth secondary checks. HR teams with frequent fly-in/fly-out assignees are also being told to review duty-of-care arrangements—especially for employees with reduced mobility who may struggle with long queue times.
While the European Commission insists the new system will strengthen external-border security and automate overstayer detection, Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed it is monitoring implementation “closely” and will update travel advice should systemic disruption materialise. For now, companies are advised to treat the April cut-over as a hard deadline and build extra slack into all Schengen-bound journeys originating in, or returning to, Ireland.
Although Ireland is not in Schengen, most Irish holiday-makers and business travellers route through European hubs or enter the Schengen Area directly. Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) members say long queues on the continent could force travellers to schedule longer connections, pay for overnight hotels or reroute via the UK, adding cost and complexity to corporate itineraries. Airlines already face slot-coordination headaches at Dublin Airport; lengthy inbound processing times on the continent would compound those pressures.
For travellers trying to navigate these evolving border rules, VisaHQ can simplify the process. The firm’s Ireland portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) provides real-time updates on EES requirements, visa regulations and transit advice, and can arrange any needed documentation in advance—services that may help Irish passengers avoid last-minute surprises and minimise time spent in queues.
Industry bodies ACI Europe and ABTA have jointly asked Brussels to approve temporary derogations—such as staffing surges, phased registration targets or outright suspension on peak days—to avoid five-hour queues forecast by some airports. Irish‐owned carriers, including Aer Lingus and Ryanair, have called for a single, interoperable kiosk design so that data captured in one Schengen state can be reused at the next connection, reducing repeated scans.
Travel-risk consultants advising multinationals with Irish operations are urging employers to update travel-policy guidance before April. Recommendations include: allowing a minimum 90-minute transit for Schengen connections, encouraging staff to enrol in Registered Traveller schemes where offered, and carrying proof of onward bookings to smooth secondary checks. HR teams with frequent fly-in/fly-out assignees are also being told to review duty-of-care arrangements—especially for employees with reduced mobility who may struggle with long queue times.
While the European Commission insists the new system will strengthen external-border security and automate overstayer detection, Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed it is monitoring implementation “closely” and will update travel advice should systemic disruption materialise. For now, companies are advised to treat the April cut-over as a hard deadline and build extra slack into all Schengen-bound journeys originating in, or returning to, Ireland.
