Travel expert warns EES system could cause 'summer of chaos' for UK travellers

A travel expert has warned of potential chaos for passengers travelling to European airports this summer(Image: BrasilNut1 via Getty Images)

UK travellers now face new data checks at European airports as the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) is fully implemented across Schengen countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece.

The new system means UK holidaymakers now have to "create a digital record" when they first travel to the Schengen area. This will require travellers to provide additional information upon arrival at the border, replacing the previous system of passport stamping.

EES became fully operational across Schengen zone borders as of April 10, and UK holidaymakers will now supply relevant information as part of the system. Some travellers may have already encountered the changes, as the system began being rolled out in October last year.

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However, the introduction of the system has led to significant travel disruptions, including hundreds of people missing flights after being stuck in queues at an airport in Milan at the weekend.

Julia Lo Bue-Said, the chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, has now warned what airports need to do to avoid a "summer of chaos".

Being interviewed on BBC Radio 4 this morning, the travel expert said: "The real issue is the volume of passengers that are trying to go through border control at one time. It's clearly creating significant bottlenecks. The biggest frustration is these airports know what passengers are arriving, they know how many flights are coming in."

Adding: "There needs to be better coordination on arrival and on departure - because the same thing happens when you leave - to ensure we are not facing a summer of complete chaos."

She explained that travel agents across the country were working hard to reassure customers, but noted the challenge presented by the EES is, in her view, "avoidable."

She added: "These queues do not need to happen if there is proper preparedness from the airports; better control of how many people are needed to register."

The travel CEO said airports could pause registration if they saw too many passengers arriving at once. The new EES system has been in a "transition phase" since October.

She added that one solution is a mobile app that's currently being rolled out but isn't available in every jurisdiction at present.

The app allows passengers to pre-register additional data before they reach the airport, which the travel expert said was a "key tool" for eliminating some queues.

However, she warned that if airports in the Schengen area don't address the problems, it will create confidence issues for passengers who will "vote with their feet" and choose to travel outside the Schengen area.

The travel CEO added: "It's not in anyone's interest to get this wrong. We really need for the EU to consider robust contingency planning, ensure that we don't endure a summer of chaos."

There are 29 countries in the Schengen area. They are:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The Republic of Ireland and Cyprus are not within the Schengen area, and therefore EES is not applicable when travelling to either of these countries.