An IMGlobalWealth.news Report
Europe’s attempt to digitise its external borders is running into an old-fashioned problem: queues.
The EU’s Entry/Exit System, or EES, became fully operational on 10 April after a six-month phased introduction. It replaces routine passport stamping for most non-EU short-stay visitors with electronic records of their entry and exit, alongside facial images and fingerprints. It is not, strictly speaking, a “digital passport”, but a biometric border-management system operating across 29 European countries.
There are benefits. By 20 April, the European Commission said EES had recorded more than 60m entries and exits, over 30,000 refusals of entry and nearly 800 people considered threats to internal security. The total has since climbed to around 160m entries and exits. Brussels says an average EES registration takes roughly 70 seconds.
But averages disguise congestion.When the system reached full operation in April, European airports reported border delays of up to three hours, with malfunctioning self-service booths, staffing shortages and intermittent IT problems among the difficulties cited.
At Milan Malpensa, more than 100 passengers were reported to have missed an easyJet flight to Manchester after delays at passport control. Summer has provided a sterner test.
Airports Council International Europe and airline groups warned in July that waits were reaching as much as five hours during peak periods, with passengers missing connections and flights.
More recent data provide harder evidence. Maximum July waiting times at Frankfurt reached 120 minutes, against 60 minutes a year earlier. Munich rose from 31 to 60 minutes, while Amsterdam Schiphol increased from 80 to 120 minutes, according to data reported by the Financial Times.
Brussels argues that these are pressure points rather than evidence of wholesale failure. Its own State of Schengen report acknowledged problems with self-service systems, biometric registration and congestion, while judging EES broadly effective.
That distinction matters. Europe is processing vast numbers of travellers while simultaneously rebuilding how its external frontier works.
EES may yet deliver faster and more secure borders. Its first European summer suggests the technology, infrastructure and staffing still have some catching up to do.
