Why some travelers are waiting hours to enter Europe

Heading to Europe this summer? You may want to pack your patience as some travelers report hours-long lines trying to enter the European Union under its new screening process.

After a gradual rollout starting Oct. 12, 2025, the EU fully implemented the biometric Entry/Exit System, or EES, at all border crossings in the Schengen Area on April 10, with face and fingerprint scans replacing manual passport stamps, according to the European Union's website. The digital system aims to streamline and better secure border crossings for non-EU nationals on short stays.

Since October, the new system has registered nearly 90 million entries and exits, with about 40,000 refusals of entry, including 1,000 people identified as a security threat to the EU, a European Commission spokesperson told USA TODAY in an email.

However, the transition has reportedly led to long waits at airport customs lines, and even some missed connections, in the EU. According to the Independent, British travelers have been warned of waits up to six hours at popular European destinations such as Italy, Portugal and Spain. One traveler at Brussels Airport told Newsweek that biometric kiosks were not yet operating or out of service, and communication to passengers was lacking.

"Delays can have various reasons," the spokesperson told USA TODAY in an email. "Very often they are not related to the operations of the EES. Any exceptional situations  can be – and are being – addressed with the flexibilities and fall-back procedures foreseen by EU law."

The EES faces 'teething problems'

According to new research by the World Travel & Tourism Council, these delays could turn travelers away from European trips.

"As with any major transformation, there will inevitably be teething problems," said WTTC President and CEO Gloria Guevara in a news release. "The challenge now is not whether EES should proceed, but how governments, border authorities and the travel and tourism sector work together to ensure implementation is as smooth as possible."

WTTC surveyed over 2,500 travelers from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, finding that "if travelers face regular border waits of three to four hours when entering the Schengen Area, around one-third would become much less likely to travel to Schengen or would choose not to visit at all."

That's a loss of up to 41 million visitor arrivals and $45.4 billion in visitor spending "should significant delays become a persistent feature of the traveler experience," said the travel organization.

While 65% of respondents were in favor of modernizing border crossings, nearly half said they didn't know what was required of them under the new system.

The European Commission said the EES system rules "foresee flexibility to ensure border fluidity," especially as the peak summer travel season approaches. The agency added that "there are fall-back solutions that Member States can rely on if needed," such as deploying more border guards, self-service kiosks and e-gates, and pre-registering on the Travel to Europe mobile app.

"The good news is that solutions already exist," Guevara said. "By making greater use of digital preregistration tools, improving traveler communications and ensuring operational readiness at border crossing points, Europe can reduce friction and deliver the seamless experience travelers expect."

This story was updated to add new information.