The EU Entry-Exit System became fully operational on 10 April 2026 across all 29 Schengen countries, replacing manual passport stamping with biometric registration — facial images and fingerprints — for all non-EU travellers on short stays. The first weekend of full operations produced queues of two to three hours at airports across Europe, with airlines reporting missed flights and stranded passengers. At Milan Linate, only 34 of 156 passengers boarded an EasyJet flight to Manchester after hours-long delays, with one family spending over £1,600 on alternative routing. Portugal’s three major airports suspended biometric collection during peak hours on 11 April before restarting in the afternoon. Airlines for Europe and Airports Council International issued a joint statement demanding member states be permitted to fully suspend the EES during excessive wait times. Croatia-Serbia border waits also exceeded three hours on Orthodox Easter weekend. EES is now the largest live biometric border control system in the world by geographic scope, collecting and storing fingerprint and facial data from hundreds of millions of non-EU travellers annually in the eu-LISA central database.
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Monday, April 20, 2026