EU border checks are set to resume in full force from Monday as member states’ rights to waive Entry/ Exit System (EES) checks during times of maximum stress comes to an end.
EES, which was introduced in April, requires British passport holders and other third-country nationals to register biometric data when entering or exiting the Schengen area.
Applying to 29 countries across Europe, excluding Ireland and Cyprus, the system has resulted in widespread delays, waits lasting hours and missed flights.
Up until now, the registration, which records data including fingerprints, photographs and passport scans, was able to be temporarily suspended when queues became too long to manage.
Despite objections from some member states, this loophole has now expired, leaving holidaymakers concerned that they may see a resumption of the chaos reported earlier in the summer.
In July, nine countries penned a letter to European Commissioner for Internal and Migration Affairs Magnus Brunner, calling the end of the suspension a “source of serious and legitimate concern”.
While EES is unavoidable and there is no way to skip the queue, even if you have already registered, here are some ways travellers can alleviate the stress of border check delays.
Travel outside peak times
Despite the new changes, EES is unlikely to cause the chaos we saw earlier in the summer, says travel expert Jake Cullum-Hollins.
“There’s a lower volume of travellers heading through airports during September so it shouldn’t be as bad as it was in April,” he says.
This goes even for the busiest airports – while Lisbon and Palma both saw wait times lasting hours and flights reportedly taking off while passengers were still in the queue, both were quieter later in the summer according to Cullum-Hollins, who recently faced no queues in Palma airport.
This is partially due to the fixing of faulty kiosks which were holding passengers up when the system was newer adds Cullin-Hollins, meaning as airports have time to adapt to the new measures wait times should decrease.
If you’re unable to travel outside of peak season, flying at less popular times or to destinations with fewer British tourists can help avoid long queues. In July, The i Paper spoke to aviation enthusiast, Zach Griff, who created a tool to help travellers identify busy times and destinations.
Skip duty free
“My top tip or EES is as soon as you’ve gone through security check head straight past duty free and all the restaurants and go to the border control desk to see how busy is it,” says Cullum-Hollins.
“If there’s lots of people, join the queue straight away and that will allow you enough time to pass through border control before your flight. If it’s not so busy then feel free to head back to duty free but keep an eye on the border control area.”
He adds that the tip only works in destinations with only one border control area. In airports with multiple gate areas, passengers will still have to wait for their gate number to be announced.
Earlier in the summer, there were reports of flights setting off while several passengers were still in the long border control queues, including one flight in June from Athens to Luton which left without dozens of passengers.
A spokesperson for ABTA, a trade association for UK travel agents, also recommended passengers go through passport control as soon as they get through security.
“Passengers should also follow their transport provider’s advice on when to arrive at their departure airport or port,” they added, “the usual rule in Europe is to arrive at least two hours before departure, but you should also check in advance.”
Pre-register for Sweden and Portugal
For travellers to select destinations, downloading the Travel to Europe app could save time.
Currently applying only to Sweden and Portugal, the app allows users to pre-register, reducing the information needed at border control to just fingerprint scans. While it doesn’t allow passengers to skip queues, it could reduce wait times.
But for the app to be effective, it requires widespread implementation.
According to data from Frontex, the company behind the app, the average time saved per passenger is only 23 seconds. However, this could add up in a queue of hundreds of passengers, reducing overall wait time.
So far, says Cullin-Hollins, travellers have not reported any significant loss of wait time after downloading the app.
For pre-registration to be truly effective, he says, it should allow passengers to by-pass the process.
“I hope that they implement separate queues for those who haven’t registered and need to use the kiosk and those who have and can then head straight to the E-gates.”
While some travel experts are optimistic that the EES chaos over the summer can only reduce, others warn that it remains to be seen whether airports have fully adapted to handle the new requirements.
Julia Lo Bue-Said OBE, CEO Advantage Travel Partnership, said: “EES hasn’t put Brits off travelling to Europe, and we’re pleased, albeit very surprised that the summer rollout has been smoother than many expected, although we have seen delays at some of the busiest holiday hotspots.
“The safety valve of temporarily pausing checks when queues become excessive will disappear, so it’s vital that European borders have the resources and contingency measures in place to prevent significant disruption.
“We want to see EES work, but it needs to be implemented in a way that doesn’t make travel unnecessarily cumbersome, and the EU has to keep a close eye on how the rollout progresses and be ready to act quickly.”
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