As everyone will know, when we left the European Union in January 2020, the process for entering and exiting has changed. Since 2020, every time we have travelled to a Schengen country, our passport has been stamped in and out, and for some who travel very frequently to the continent, this has essentially meant running out of space in their passports quickly! At some airports, this has meant some extra queuing as the time to stamp and check the passport takes longer than just scanning it, or being able to use the electronic gates.
In a bid to modernise this process, the European Union introduced the Entry/Exit System – a new electronic version of ‘stamping’ your passport by digitising the whole process. Although already delayed, the rollout of the system started last October across the whole of the Schengen region and requires you to provide a photo and fingerprints at the point of crossing the border. In the main, this means at your destination (although there are a couple of exceptions in St Pancras for the Eurostar, and at the Port of Dover). Although the system is mandated by the EU, each sovereign country has the ability impliment the rules differently, so the actual process may differ slightly depending on where you are. Additionally, if you depart the UK on a cruise bound for European ports, you don’t take part in EES.
As with any major infrastructure change like this, there were bound to be problems occurring, and with fewer travellers over the winter period, the expectation was that any problems would be ironed out in time for the summer season. To give context, there is a deadline of April 9th, for all ports and airports to be operational.
Lisbon has already confirmed that they are abandoning it until March, and there have been extremely long queues in Tenerife, as only 15% of the machines are actually working. Other airports which have been reported to have turned off EES for the moment include the big transit hub of Madrid, reports of Malaga doing the same, Munich and Oslo.
Although there is an app called ‘Travel to Europe’ which allows you to verify your passport and upload a selfie to try and speed up the process, it’s only currently being used by Sweden.
This week, ABTA put out a statement calling on authorities to roll out contingency measures at ports and airports where there are excessive queues currently, to minimise the impact on all travellers:
On Friday 30 January, a Commission spokesperson reminded the 29 European countries participating in EES that they have contingency measures they can use to avoid long delays at passport control.
In the letter (sent 4 February), Mark Tanzer, ABTA’s Chief Executive, supported this intervention, saying feedback from its travel company members shows that countries aren’t being consistent with the use of contingency measures, with some borders not applying them at all.
ABTA says the Commission needs to ensure consistent and effective communication about the use of contingency measures to member states and border authorities, to make sure that the staff on the ground understand the rules and know they can apply them.
The Commission must also keep the rollout under close review – particularly as the number of passengers undergoing checks increases and we head towards busier travel periods.
The underuse of the measures has meant that there have been occasions where passengers have unnecessarily been caught up in lengthy delays going through passport control, which can have a knock-on impact on their onward travel.
Under the contingency measures, border authorities are allowed to stand down the system or limit the number or extent of checks to avoid significant disruption and large queues.
The Commission spokesperson, responding to a question from a French journalist, also drew attention to additional measures that can be utilised, where necessary, throughout the busy summer travel season. This means that while EES will be fully operational from 9th April, the opportunity to apply contingency measures will continue up to and throughout the summer.
Overall, ABTA says passengers’ experience of EES has been mixed, with some people having no issues at all, whereas others have experienced queues or technical problems.
ABTA says that as well as applying the contingency measures, destinations and border authorities need to do more to plan for peak travel periods. This should include the use of additional border guards at the busiest times.
Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA – The Travel Association, said:
“The ambition of a project like EES means it was never going to go completely smoothly, and we were prepared for that. However, what is frustrating is that border authorities have it within their power to ease queues and deal with issues as they arise – but that doesn’t seem to be happening across the board.
“As the rollout expands and we head towards peak travel periods, we’re urging border authorities to plan for busy periods and use the contingency measures available. It’s critical the Commission keeps a close eye on this throughout the rollout and beyond.”
Our advice is not to worry at the moment. These issues will get resolved one way or another, whether that means extending the deadline of April 9th, or reworking some of the conditions of entry to speed up the process. Especially at the height of the season, cities and countries won’t want the negative publicity of long excessive queues for entry, potentially driving visitors away.
However, remember – Cyprus and Ireland are not part of the Schengen zone, so you don’t complete the checks there, and of course, nearby countries which aren’t included either include, Montenegro, Albania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey.
