Barely days after the European Union rolled out its long-awaited Entry/Exit System (EES), major French airports witnessed severe disruption, with passengers facing hours-long queues at immigration checkpoints. At Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 2E, travelers reported chaotic scenes as automated kiosks repeatedly malfunctioned, forcing border officials to revert to manual passport stamping.
The EES, designed as a €1.3 billion biometric system, requires non-EU travelers to provide fingerprint scans and facial recognition data before entering or exiting the region. However, technical glitches and server slowdowns have led to major bottlenecks, significantly increasing waiting times. According to aviation analytics firm Schengen90, queues stretched up to four hours at key transit points including CDG, Eurostar terminals, and the Eurotunnel route.
Airlines and aviation bodies have raised concerns over the system’s early failures. Organizations such as Airports Council International Europe, along with major carriers like Air France-KLM and easyJet, are urging the European Commission to introduce temporary relief measures. They have proposed allowing border authorities to suspend biometric checks if waiting times exceed 45 minutes.
The situation highlights the challenges of implementing large-scale digital border control systems across busy international hubs. While the EES aims to modernize border security and eliminate manual stamping, its initial rollout has exposed infrastructure gaps that need urgent attention to avoid prolonged passenger inconvenience.