EU Allows EES Check Suspensions Until September as Greece Waives Biometrics for UK Visitors
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 24
EU Allows EES Check Suspensions Until September as Greece Waives Biometrics for UK Visitors
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jun 24
Summary
The European Commission said EES biometric checks can be suspended until September in exceptional cases of excessive waits, and Greece is not applying them to British visitors during the summer peak.
Six-hour queues have been warned at some airports because the new Entry/Exit System requires non-EU travelers, including Britons, to register fingerprints and a photo, with technology glitches and staffing shortages blamed.
Some passengers have already missed flights home after long border waits, while airlines differ on whether they will hold departures; Wizz Air has told customers to arrive three hours early.
Portugal plans hundreds of extra border staff in July, while Eurostar has installed 49 EES machines at St Pancras and Eurotunnel more than 100 kiosks on each side of the Channel.
The summer travel season is the first major test of EES across the 29-country Schengen area, ahead of the separate ETIAS travel authorization now due by the end of 2026.