{"id":768615,"date":"2026-06-29T22:19:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T22:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/768615\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T22:19:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T22:19:15","slug":"eu-entry-exit-system-why-australian-travellers-face-six-hour-delays-at-european-borders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/768615\/","title":{"rendered":"EU Entry\/Exit System: Why Australian travellers face six-hour delays at European borders"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ChrisSave<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

AAA<\/p>\n

Australians have been warned to be prepared for queues of up to six hours to enter Europe during the busy holiday season as airports on the continent warn that a new entry and exit system imposed by the EU will be a disaster unless it is suspended.<\/p>\n

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has told travellers to \u201ctake food and water if needed\u201d to eat in line because delays stemming from the introduction of biometric controls including facial photographs and fingerprints have led to hours-long waits for passengers arriving in Europe.<\/p>\n

\"AustraliansAustralians will find entering Europe more complicated.AP<\/p>\n

The EU\u2019s automated digital border management system, called the Entry\/Exit System (EES), was rolled out in April across all Schengen Zone countries, the bloc of 29 nations comprising the union, a spokesperson for the EU said.<\/p>\n

But its introduction, which has been uneven across member states, has coincided with peak travel times for the European spring and summer seasons, and confusion between airport authorities and the EU government.<\/p>\n

Some airports, including Athens, have suspended the system for British travellers to get lines moving faster. In some European airports, automated kiosks to collect the information are not yet up and running, meaning staff have to process passengers one by one.<\/p>\n

The chief executive of Rome\u2019s airports told the Financial Times that his airports faced \u201cdisaster\u201d unless the system was suspended<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew terminals at Lisbon Airport for a new system that control the European Union\u2019s borders for arrivals who are not EU citizens.Getty Images<\/p>\n

Dr Stefan Schulte, the president of European airports peak body Airports Council International Europe, warned last week that airports could be overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cPassengers are queueing for hours at peak traffic times and I just do not know how we will be able to cope in the coming weeks with the expected increase in traffic,\u201d Schulte said.<\/p>\n

Asked by the masthead about delays, Aeroporti di Roma noted that the security procedures \u201care applied uniformly in all [EU] member states\u201d.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

But in the case \u201cof the first entry into the European Union, may involve longer processing times due to the additional checks required\u201d, the airport operator said in a response posted on X.<\/p>\n

In May, DFAT\u2019s Smartraveller website<\/a> advised Australians bound for Europe that the EES was causing delays of up to four to six hours at some European airports.<\/p>\n

\u201cTravellers have missed flights as a result. Take delays into account when booking your travel,\u201d the service said, urging Australians to allow extra time between connecting flights.<\/p>\n

\u201cQueues to access EES self-service kiosks are long. Be prepared to stand for an extended time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rome\u2019sRome\u2019s airports could be forced to temporarily suspend the EU\u2019s new Schengen Entry\/Exit System (EES) biometric border checks this summer to prevent major travel disruptions. <\/p>\n

\u201cTake food and water<\/a> if needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

People with mobility or health concerns who are required to queue for hours should discuss them with airport support staff, Smartraveller said.<\/p>\n

A representative for the EU said ESS \u201cworks well, with millions of travellers crossing the EU\u2019s borders every week\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new system makes our borders more secure and protects EU citizens,\u201d the representative said, adding that more than 1100 people had already been identified as posing a security threat to the EU. \u201cThe EES rules provide for the necessary flexibility to ensure border fluidity, in particular in view of the coming [northern] summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

But the collection of biometric data \u201ccan be suspended when exceptional circumstances lead to excessive waiting times\u201d, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

The EU added that most often long waiting times \u201care not related to the operations of the EES\u201d but staff shortages for the northern European summer, infrastructure limitations and the concentration of flights in specific slots.<\/p>\n

Australia already photographs passengers arriving in the country via its SmartGates. They are used to collect information for visa and customs purposes, as well as statistics.<\/p>\n

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Save<\/p>\n

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n

Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n

\"ChrisChris Zappone<\/a> is a senior reporter covering aviation and business. He is former digital foreign editor.Connect via X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":768616,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-768615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=768615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/768615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/768616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=768615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=768615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=768615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}