NEW biometric checks for UK travellers at European borders may not “stabilise” for another two years, officials have warned.
The new EES system has caused chaos and long queues at airports with no plans to relax the checks during the busy summer period.
The Entry Exit System (EES) involves people from third-party countries such as the UK having their fingerprints registered and photographs taken to enter the Schengen Area.
This Area consists of 29 European countries, mainly in the EU, and around 1,700 border crossing points requiring the use of EES.
For most UK travellers, the process is done at foreign airports with the digital record being kept for three years.
The airline body International Air Transport Association recently warned border queues could reach six hours this summer.
Airports in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy have been reported to be among the worst affected.
This comes after more than 100 easyJet passengers missed a flight from Milan Linate to Manchester in April because of delays at passport desks caused by the ramping up of EES.
Uku Sarekanno, deputy executive director of EU border agency Frontex, said some member states are “struggling” to adopt the new system.
During a summit of travel industry leaders organised by Abta in Westminster, Sarekanno said: “We expect that the situation will stabilise in one or two years.
“The most challenging part is the first enrolment, that is the moment where fingerprints and facial images will be taken.
“If a person is visiting the EU again (within three years), they don’t have to go through the same process, so they can have a more fast track of entry.”
Experts say queues are going to get even worse for British holiday makers this summer with queue times potentially stretching to as much as six hours.
This will be the first summer since the full introduction of the new Entry/Exit System (EES) across Europe, where passengers have to register their fingerprints and have their photo taken.
According to The Times, Rafael Schvartzman warned that the EES systems are being operated differently between airports, which is causing the problem.
Schvartzman said: “What we are seeing is a very hard risk of really challenging times or waiting times, talking about expectations of three, four, five, six hours which is unacceptable.
“We know for a fact there are many cases where people have lost flights or their connectivity.”
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
Thesun.co.uk is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thesun and follow us on TikTok @TheSun.