EU Entry-Exit System triples UK passport control times, airports report

The EU’s new Entry-Exit System (EES) has significantly increased passport control waiting times for British travellers at some airports, airport officials and border authorities said, with reported delays persisting despite recent integrations with e-gates.

At Rome Fiumicino, airport Chief Aviation Officer Ivan Bassato said integration with passport e-gates has improved processing but average clearance time for UK nationals rose from seven minutes to about 20 minutes, and the system’s complexity has still led to queues lasting up to one or two hours.

Passengers recounted long waits: one family from Yorkshire reported a two-hour queue with young children, a US couple said they missed their car transfer after about an hour in line, and other travellers described passport control taking 45–50 minutes in Rome or nearly an hour in Barcelona when some machines failed.

Ryanair described the rollout as causing unnecessary delays and urged UK passengers to allow extra time for journeys and be prepared for extended passport-control waits.

Fiumicino invested in kiosks costing around €12m but found large passenger volumes impractical for standalone machines; currently UK nationals can use e-gates to register, while children under 12 must be processed by border officers.

Liberal News Analysis: What Does This Development Mean?

The EES requires non-EU citizens entering the Schengen area to register fingerprints and a photo on arrival and checks this information on exit. Rome reports improved flow where e-gates are integrated but overall processing times for UK travellers have increased. Portuguese authorities at Faro acknowledge occasional server-related bugs affecting queues and say automated kiosks generally remain the fastest option.

Superintendent Pedro Oliveira at Faro noted that system issues can be linked to broader EU servers and that crashes occasionally require brief reboots, though these incidents are reportedly less frequent than initially. Both airports have increased border-staff presence to assist processing.

Quick Glance: What You Need to Know

• Entry-Exit System requires non-EU arrivals to register fingerprints and a photo on entry and checks data on exit.
• Rome reports UK passenger processing time rising from seven minutes to about 20 minutes after EES implementation.
• Some airports, including Faro, have experienced server-related bugs and occasional longer queues, while automated kiosks often remain the fastest option.