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There are significant changes on the horizon for travellers across Europe, as a new airport rule that's soon to be rolled out could potentially cause serious delays before your next flight.
It's often the case when you're travelling by plane that you spend more time at the airport than on the flight itself, and that's not even counting the frustrating frequency of delays and cancellations.
This becomes even more of an issue for international flights when visas and passports come into question, and while Brits have already had to deal with the frustration of non-EU lines for a number of years now, things are unfortunately about to get worse.
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If you've flown from Europe in the past six months you might have noticed signs detailing a new Entry/Exit System (EES) around European airports, and there's a good chance that you will have also had to go through a slightly different procedure when heading through passport control.
As shared by LADbible, this system was soft-launched back in October 2025, but it's set to expand even further imminently, leading to potentially frustrating delays at certain airports over the next year following full implementation from April 10.
The purpose of the system is to provide greater identification of criminals traveling in and out of EU nations, alongside tracking stay limits for specific nationalities in certain countries.
When heading up to the passport desk, travellers will have to register various personal details – including biometric data like fingerprints and photographs of your face – alongside the date and locations of your entry and exit.
Plans have expressed a desire to have at least 35 percent of all travellers registered within the EES by the full implementation date in April, although it's unclear if that target will be met and how it'll affect wait times afterwards.
Unfortunately it also means that you'll likely want to get to the airport even earlier than expected, especially if you're flying during the busiest times of the year like the height of summer.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partership, offered her own advice to passengers from the UK when speaking to LADbible, outiling:
"For major airports in southern Europe, we recommend that travellers now allocate four hours for navigating the new system in these initial stages."
While that might sound like an unattractive prospect for those who already dread the standard two-hour wait, it's far better than the stress you'd otherwise feel being stuck in a passport line when you can see your plane taking off outside without you.
