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European Union·France·Germany·Belgium·Italy·Spain·Greece·Diplomacy

New EU border system triggers hours-long queues at major European airports

Wednesday, 15 April 2026, 14:03 · 1 min read

The European Union's newly launched entry-exit system (EES) — which requires non-EU travellers to register biometric data and personal information at Schengen-area borders — is causing delays of up to four hours at airports across France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Greece. The Airports Council International (ACI) has warned that queues will become "unmanageable" over the summer peak season, and has called for the ability to suspend checks when wait times become excessive; over the weekend, more than 100 passengers missed an easyJet flight from Milan to Manchester due to border backlogs. The European Commission, which insists the system is functioning well in the vast majority of member states, says average registration takes 70 seconds, though airports report the process can run to five minutes per traveller.

Sources
The GuardianNew EU entry-exit system causing up to three-hour delays, say airports ↗︎
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