Hours-long queues, missed connections and malfunctioning kiosks have plagued the first weeks of the EU’s biometric Entry-Exit System (EES), according to hundreds of accounts collected by The Guardian. The system, which captures fingerprints and facial biometrics for all non-EU arrivals, became mandatory on 10 April. British nationals—now ‘third-country’ visitors—must register the first time they enter Schengen.
![UK Travellers Report ‘Nightmare’ Delays as EU Entry-Exit System Goes Live]()
For travellers who want to make sure they have every document and contingency in place before facing the new kiosks, VisaHQ can help. Through its UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/), the service tracks Schengen policy shifts in real time, offers personalised visa and ETA checks, and assists with expedited travel paperwork—saving precious minutes when queues start to build.
Travellers described three-hour waits at Copenhagen and Málaga, while one pregnant passenger endured a four-hour arrival hold in Pisa with no seating or water. Missed flights have immediate cost implications: one IT manager spent over £2,000 on re-routing via Stansted after missing his Copenhagen-Heathrow leg. Business-travel insurers say EES delays may not be covered because they are classed as “border-control issues,” leaving companies to pick up re-booking costs. Airlines warn that summer traffic could worsen bottlenecks unless member-state staffing levels rise. The UK government, meanwhile, has declined to reciprocate biometric exit controls, arguing that its ETA programme already provides advance data; carriers fear the resulting asymmetry could confuse passengers. Practical tip: brief employees to allow extra connection time, keep boarding passes handy for re-enrolment and consider routing via airports such as Dublin—outside Schengen—where EES does not apply.
For travellers who want to make sure they have every document and contingency in place before facing the new kiosks, VisaHQ can help. Through its UK portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/), the service tracks Schengen policy shifts in real time, offers personalised visa and ETA checks, and assists with expedited travel paperwork—saving precious minutes when queues start to build.
Travellers described three-hour waits at Copenhagen and Málaga, while one pregnant passenger endured a four-hour arrival hold in Pisa with no seating or water. Missed flights have immediate cost implications: one IT manager spent over £2,000 on re-routing via Stansted after missing his Copenhagen-Heathrow leg. Business-travel insurers say EES delays may not be covered because they are classed as “border-control issues,” leaving companies to pick up re-booking costs. Airlines warn that summer traffic could worsen bottlenecks unless member-state staffing levels rise. The UK government, meanwhile, has declined to reciprocate biometric exit controls, arguing that its ETA programme already provides advance data; carriers fear the resulting asymmetry could confuse passengers. Practical tip: brief employees to allow extra connection time, keep boarding passes handy for re-enrolment and consider routing via airports such as Dublin—outside Schengen—where EES does not apply.
