EES Queues in Europe Have Become the Main Risk for Summer Trips: How Tourists Should Plan Their Journey to Schengen

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Marta Skylar
Aviation News Editor
27.07.2026 22:06

EES Queues in Europe Have Become the Main Risk for Summer Trips: How Tourists Should Plan Their Journey to Schengen

The European Entry/Exit System is already operational across the Schengen Area, but the first full summer season has revealed its most painful point: biometric registration does not always keep pace with peak passenger traffic. For tourists, this does not mean a ban on travel or a new visa, but the need to allow more time for passport control, especially when departing from popular resort airports and on routes with connections.

The most important tourist news of the week for the European direction is not a new fee or another warning about the upcoming ETIAS, but a practical problem that travelers are already facing on the road. At the end of July, when school holidays began in the UK, the topic of delays due to EES came to the fore again: politicians, airlines, and tourist associations called for border services to be given more flexibility, and passengers are advised to arrive earlier and plan their connections more carefully.

According to The Guardian on July 24, 2026, during the peak summer weekend, about 2.2 million British vacationers were set to head abroad, primarily to Europe. The publication also noted that the Port of Dover expected some of the busiest days of the season, and French border guards temporarily stopped taking fingerprints and photographing passengers in cars on ferry routes and in the Eurotunnel to avoid excessive congestion. This is an important detail: the problem is not the same everywhere, and at certain checkpoints, authorities may ease procedures when queues become too large.

What is EES and Who Does It Affect

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an EU digital system for registering the entries and exits of third-country nationals traveling to the Schengen Area for short stays. The European Commission announced that on April 10, 2026, EES became fully operational in all Schengen countries. The system replaces manual passport stamps with digital records and records document data, date and place of border crossing, biometric data, and entry refusals.

For a tourist, this means that during the first crossing of the Schengen Area's external border after the system's launch, a border guard or an automated kiosk may ask for a facial photo and fingerprints. On subsequent trips, the check should be faster, as the data is already in the system. According to GOV.UK for British citizens, nothing needs to be submitted in advance, there is no fee for the EES registration itself, and the digital record usually lasts for three years.

The system applies to short trips to Schengen Area countries, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. Ireland and Cyprus are not part of the Schengen Area, so EES does not apply to trips specifically to these countries.

Why Delays Have Escalated Now

The system itself is not a one-day novelty: its phased launch began as early as October 2025, and full operation started in April 2026. However, July and August have become the first real stress test for EES, as several factors coincided: summer vacations, mass family trips, a high proportion of non-EU tourists, uneven infrastructure readiness, and a lack of throughput capacity at certain airports and ports.

In an open letter from ACI Europe, Airlines for Europe, and IATA to the President of the European Commission dated July 1, 2026, aviation organizations stated that the implementation of EES is creating significant operational consequences for passengers, border services, airports, and airlines. The letter states that during peak periods, waiting times at border control have already reached five hours, and in July and August, European airports must serve approximately 40 million more passengers than in the previous two months.

This does not mean that every tourist will necessarily stand for several hours. On the contrary, the official position of the European Commission is that EES is an important element of the modernization of external borders and helps detect overstays, rule violations, and security risks. But for the travel market, it is not only important whether the central system works, but whether a specific checkpoint can handle the actual flow of passengers during peak hours.

Where the Risks Are Highest

The most sensitive situations arise where tourists must pass passport control immediately before flying home or before a short connection. If the queue for biometric verification delays a passenger after they have checked in for the flight, the plane will not always wait. That is why airlines and airports insist that passengers need realistic time buffers rather than general advice.

According to Euronews on July 22, new biometric checks have already changed the behavior of some British travelers, but have not stopped demand. Among those planning trips to Europe over the next 12 months, 64% stated they would still travel as planned, and 41% are ready to allow more time for the journey. Among those who have already traveled through Europe in the last month, 36% reported standing in line to provide biometric data, 30% encountered longer queues at passport or border control, and 37% had no problems at the border.

This statistics clearly shows the real picture: EES has not paralyzed European tourism, but has made trips less predictable. The highest risk is for passengers with short connections, families with children, travelers with limited mobility, groups, cruise tourists with strict schedules, and those returning from resorts on mass departure days.

What This Means for Tourists from Ukraine and Other Non-EU Countries

For Ukrainian tourists, the logic is the same as for other third-country nationals entering the Schengen Area for short stays. EES does not cancel visa-free rules, does not grant the right to stay longer than the permitted period, and does not replace the verification of documents by a border guard. It only converts the recording of entries and exits into a digital format and adds biometric identification.

A key practical rule is not to confuse EES with ETIAS. EES operates at the border and records the fact of crossing, while ETIAS is a separate future system of prior authorization for visa-free travelers. We previously explained separately why the launch of ETIAS is being postponed until 2027. Thus, current queues at airports and ports are related specifically to EES, not to the need to apply for ETIAS before the trip.

Ukrainians traveling to Europe should check not only the entry rules of the destination country but also the route as a whole. If the flight has a connection in the Schengen Area, it is important to understand where exactly the first border control will take place. If a traveler is flying, for example, to Spain via Germany or the Netherlands, the first entry into Schengen may occur at the transfer airport, not at the final destination. This is especially important for connections lasting less than two hours.

How to Reduce the Risk of Missing a Flight

There is no universal arrival time at the airport, as the situation depends on the country, terminal, hour of the day, proportion of non-EU passengers, and whether kiosks and automatic gates are operational. But for the 2026 summer season, a cautious strategy is as follows: allow more time than usual for international departures from the Schengen Area, and for connections, avoid minimum transfer times, especially if the route includes passport control.

  • Check messages from the airline, airport, port, or rail operator before departure.
  • Allow a larger time buffer for the first trip after the EES launch, as biometric registration may take longer.
  • Do not plan important meetings or further transfers immediately after arrival if the route passes through a busy Schengen checkpoint.
  • Arrive earlier than on a typical off-season day when returning from a resort airport.
  • Keep your passport, boarding documents, accommodation bookings, insurance, and return route confirmation handy.
  • Do not assume that the airline will delay the flight due to a queue at passport control.

Special attention is needed for those traveling through British checkpoints with French border control before departure: Dover, Eurotunnel in Folkestone, and Eurostar at London St Pancras. GOV.UK explains that EES checks in such cases are performed before departing the UK. For car trips, this means that delays may occur not after arriving in France, but before boarding the ferry or train.

What This Changes for the Tourism Market

For Europe, EES has become a test not only of border security but also of the competitiveness of the tourist destination. If the system works quickly, it can make control more accurate and gradually simplify repeat trips. However, if tourists face multi-hour queues, the effect is opposite: dissatisfaction grows, passengers allow larger buffers, airlines experience delays, and some travelers may choose other destinations or other seasons.

So far, data does not show a mass refusal to travel to Europe. Even in the study cited by Euronews, most potential travelers do not cancel their plans but adapt their behavior. For travel companies, this means that demand remains, but the value of correct logistics increases: longer connections, early transfers to the airport, transparent communication with clients, and backup scenarios become part of high-quality service.

Conclusion

EES does not close Europe to tourists and does not create a new visa requirement, but in the summer of 2026, it has become one of the main operational risks for travel to the Schengen Area. The best strategy for passengers is to check current messages from their carrier, allow more time at the border, avoid overly short connections, and remember that the first biometric registration may be slower than the usual passport stamp. For the market, this is a signal: digital borders can be useful, but only when their speed matches the actual tourist flow.

Sources: European Commission, GOV.UK, ACI Europe/IATA/A4E, The Guardian, Euronews.