The European Union's new Entry/Exit System (EES) and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) were supposed to revolutionize border control, offering seamless, automated entry for trusted travellers. However, the reality on the ground has been far from seamless. As a seasoned travel writer, I recently encountered a chaotic scene at Rome's Fiumicino Airport, where the EES kiosks were roped off, and passengers were being processed manually by immigration officials. This experience highlights the challenges and potential pitfalls of the EES and ETIAS systems.
The EES, which began operations in October 2025, was designed to record the fingerprints and images of non-European travellers entering the Schengen Area without a visa. This data would then be linked to the ETIAS, a pre-travel authorisation system that will soon be required for visa-free visitors from countries like Australia, Britain, the US, and Canada. The ETIAS is part of the EU's broader Smart Borders project, aiming to modernize border control and allow approved travellers to enter the Schengen Area through digital scanners.
However, the EES has faced significant challenges, particularly with the fingerprinting process. Fingerprinting is slow and often problematic, requiring several minutes per traveller, especially for first-time registrations. This becomes a significant issue when considering the large number of passengers arriving at busy airports. Many scanners have also failed to capture fingerprints, leading to long queues and further chaos. The scale of the new system was not adequately anticipated by governments and airports, resulting in a lack of additional border control staff and software failures.
Despite these issues, no European country has formally abandoned the EES. Italy has fully suspended its implementation until September 30, 2026, while other countries like Spain and Portugal have relaxed enforcement during busy periods. However, with May marking the start of Europe's peak visitor season, the challenges are likely to persist. Many travellers will continue to face long queues and manual passport stamping, as the EES struggles to cope with the volume of traffic.
The EES and ETIAS are designed to work together, but the EES's unreliability poses a significant threat to the effective implementation of ETIAS. Without reliable biometric matching from the EES database, ETIAS cannot function smoothly. This raises questions about the timeline for ETIAS's introduction, which has already been delayed multiple times.
The vision of seamless, automated entry for trusted travellers is an ambitious one, and it may eventually come to fruition. However, for now, the reality at many European airports is far from seamless. Travellers can expect long queues and manual processing, as the EES and ETIAS systems continue to face challenges and delays. This situation underscores the importance of careful planning and adequate resources in implementing such large-scale border control systems.
