A new European border control system is causing widespread delays for non-European Union travelers at airports across the Schengen area, with wait times reaching up to six hours.
The Entry/Exit System (EES), which became fully operational in April, replaces traditional manual passport stamps with automated electronic and biometric registration records.
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International Air Transport Association (IATA) Regional Vice President for Europe Rafael Schvartzman reported border disruptions during an industry meeting on June 6.
“We are already seeing delays and misconnections in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Belgium, and elsewhere,” Schvartzman said.
He warned that holiday air travelers could face severe processing bottlenecks during the upcoming peak summer weeks if local governments fail to resolve ongoing structural issues.
Schvartzman described wait times of “three, four, five, six hours” at affected airports.
European Union Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner defended the security implementation following a Schengen Council meeting in Luxembourg, calling it “incredibly important.”
According to data released by Brunner, the digital infrastructure has registered 90 million individuals while blocking 38,000 unauthorized entries since its gradual rollout began.
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Airport officials in Switzerland confirmed that the electronic database significantly increases individual passenger processing times at border checkpoints.
“In connection with EES, there have been and may continue to be longer waiting times at border control,” said a spokesperson for Zurich Airport.
The airport authority noted that the lengthy procedure involves creating a unique data profile for every arriving third-country national.
“The process is correspondingly time-consuming,” the spokesperson added.
In Geneva, customs officials noted that localized seasonal passenger surges previously resulted in border processing queues lasting multiple hours.
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“On the most difficult day, the waiting time was two and a half hours,” said a spokesperson for Geneva Airport.
