EES, the automated system for registering foreigners in the EU, has recently become fully operational in 29 EU countries. The obligation to undergo EES applies to all citizens arriving in the European Union from countries outside the EU on short-term visas or visa-free travel.
The system does not change the conditions and rules of entry, only the border control process. For the first trip (entering or leaving the EU), it is necessary to register directly at the border. The data is recorded in a digital file, which is kept for three years.
EES has worked at different types of borders – at airports, at land road checkpoints, and on international rail routes.
The Guardian reported that in the first days of the system’s operation, airports in France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Greece experienced hours-long queues, and the situation could turn into a “collapse” by the summer tourist season.
At Milan’s Linate airport, only 34 out of 156 passengers of the EasyJet flight to Manchester managed to get on board – the other 122 did not pass the control in time, and the plane left without them. The airline offered free ticket rescheduling, but refused to accept responsibility for the incident.
Here’s what one of the passengers who didn’t manage to get on that flight told the BBC:
“We had to pay £900 in total to leave the next day on another flight. But in doing so we were forced to spend the night on the floor at the airport. I contacted EasyJet but the only thing they offered was compensation of £12.25p. Given that we had to buy more food and drink, the compensation was not enough to cover even that part of the cost.”
Airports Council International (ACI) European head of operations Olivier Jankovec said passengers are already having to wait up to three hours during peak hours. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary called the system a “total disgrace and a mess”. He called for the full launch of EES to be delayed until October, citing queues of up to four hours at some airports.
Industry representatives have demanded that the European Commission allow border authorities to suspend the system completely in the event of excessive delays.
The European Commission responded that according to its data, the system is operating normally and it takes an average of 70 seconds to clear one traveler – as intended. ACI calls this figure unrealistic – according to the organization’s calculations, the actual procedure time is five times longer.
The launch of EES has already been postponed several times. The border control system has been worked on since 2016, but it was only launched in 2026.
