France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland have reportedly been given informal permission to delay full implementation of the European Entry/Exit System (EES), according to reports this week.
No new deadline has been attached to the delays. The stated reason is “maintaining border fluidity”.
The European Commission has declined to comment on the record. Meanwhile, Holiday Extras has renewed its criticism of the EES rollout, arguing that the system is creating disruption for travellers and the wider tourism industry.
Holiday Extras CEO Matthew Pack has previously said that EES was not fit for purpose. The company has also published modelling on the potential economic cost of disruption linked to the system.
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Holiday Extras CEO describes family experience
Pack said he experienced the problems first-hand during a family trip to Faro this summer.
According to Pack, biometric scanners failed on arrival. As a result, his family had to complete manual checks with their children.
On the return journey, the family arrived early and cleared security quickly. However, they encountered another lengthy biometric queue. Pack said they eventually had to sprint to the gate, passing shops along the way.
Pack said:
“I called this a fiasco last week and, credit where it’s due, nine EU governments appear to agree with me. They just can’t quite bring themselves to say so out loud. Officially the EES is proceeding as planned. Unofficially, most of the continent has just been quietly waved through a side door marked ‘maintaining border fluidity’, which is EU speak for ‘please don’t ask us about this again’.
“The idea may have looked sensible on paper, but in practice the cost now far outweighs the benefit. Travellers face uncertainty and hassle, airlines cannot wait for delayed passengers, transfer operators cannot wait for hours without charge, and airports lose revenue as people race past cafés and shops rather than spending.
“My own children’s biometric checks in Faro were handled by an official who had clearly lost patience with my son and the fingerprint scanner. Despite arriving very early, there was nothing smooth or leisurely about the experience.
“In business, when the evidence shows that a solution is creating more problems than it solves, you stop and reassess. The EU should revisit the intended benefit, examine the true cost and redesign the system around the realities of travel—not keep forcing through a rollout for which nobody seems willing to take responsibility.”
Holiday Extras calls for EES review
Holiday Extras argues that the reported delays involving nine countries raise questions about the wider EES rollout.
The company says the system should be reassessed if implementation is causing significant disruption across borders and airports.
Pack added:
“If a system needs this many countries quietly waved out of doing it properly, it isn’t a rollout that needs patience. It’s a system that needs turning off, admitting it didn’t work, and rebuilding properly. And somebody in Brussels owes my wife a handbag.”
Holiday Extras’ modelling on the economic cost of EES disruption was first published in May and updated through the summer.
The modelling remains available at holidayextras.com.
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