Travel delays and feedback from readers

During 2026, airlines and airport operators warned of long queues at border control during peak travel periods.

Aviation industry leaders reported congestion at a number of European border points since the EES’s rollout, with waiting times in some cases said to be reaching up to five hours.

For anyone travelling from France to the UK, Wizz Air’s boss meanwhile advised allowing at least three hours before departure to ensure sufficient time to pass through border control and reach the gate.

Concerns were raised by industry groups including Airports Council International (ACI), Airlines for Europe (A4E) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

A spokeswoman for ACI Europe told The Connexion that their biggest concern was that the e-gates and EES kiosks should function effectively. 

“Otherwise, with everything done manually at the booths, the waiting times are bound to increase exponentially.”

She added: “I think that in the end, if the technology works as expected, EES should not be a game changer for point-to-point airports like our large regional airports in France (Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, etc), as they ultimately have relatively few third-country nationals and non-Schengen flights. 

“Obviously, procedures are longer than before EES and there may always be specific situations (ski flights, sporting competitions, etc) that increase waiting times, but this should remain exceptional.

“On the other hand, the very major challenges and concerns are at the hubs, Aéroports de Paris in particular and Charles de Gaulle especially.”

The European Commission stated in 2026 that the system was “working well” in most member states and airports, but acknowledged that some locations were experiencing delays during the transitional periods.

It pointed out that responsibility lies with member states, especially in relation to staffing and infrastructure, although the commission said it was providing ongoing support where difficulties persisted.

The commission said it was encouraging member states to adopt the Travel to Europe app, developed by Frontex, in order to allow travellers to pre-register their details before arriving at the border. 

Readers reported issues

A number of readers who contacted The Connexion during spring and summer 2026 also described longer waits which they attributed to the new systems.

One said: "I travel through Paris CDG at least once a month.

“Last Wednesday I found a 1.5-hour queue at border control and none of the 41 EES terminals were working. I missed several train options because of the delay.

“To be fair, there were plenty of staff around who were polite and helpful, especially with older people and families. A few days later, flying out of the same terminal to Ireland, there were no border queues at all.”

Another noted: "The EES booths are not operational and you can't use PARAFE with a UK passport in Marseille. There were only two border guards for the whole international arrivals area…Needless to say, the queue was huge."

Difficulty on return from Disneyland trip

Briton David Newton said he was left “thinking twice about flying ever again” after experiencing delays at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport after a family trip to Disneyland Paris with his wife and four-year-old daughter. 

He said there were significant queues on arrival from the UK, related to the new EES procedures, including the taking of fingerprint scans and facial images (at the border guard's desks; no kiosks were in use), with which they had been unfamiliar.

However, the real problems occurred on departure, when the family arrived three hours in advance for their return flight.

Check-in with easyJet and security took an hour and a half, after which they faced huge queues with what appeared to be “thousands of people” for passport control, Mr Newton said. Only about a quarter of the available border guard passport booths appeared to be manned.

"No members of staff would explain what was happening or even acknowledge we were there.”

After waiting three hours, they missed their flight.  

They then had to leave the secure area, collect their luggage, and wait four hours before they could check in again for another flight. At passport control, the whole procedure, including fingerprints and facial scans, was repeated, and staff did not explain why it was necessary when he asked. Kiosks were again out of use.

Delays were worsened by practical difficulties, with children struggling to follow instructions and disabled passengers unable to stand for facial photographs. 

"It made a lot of people very angry and frustrated, but a simple explanation or announcement could have calmed the situation," Mr Newton, 43, said.

Although the family were placed on the next available flight, the self-employed industrial tools supplier said “a lot of people were missing flights", with some passengers unable to fly until the following day. 

Compensation for EES-related delays

Mr Newton said he would apply to easyJet for compensation. 

However, in such situations airlines do not usually give it beyond a replacement flight. This is because EU compensation regulations apply only if the airline is responsible. Border delays are considered outside their control. 

A spokesperson for ADP said: "As regards the roll-out of EES at our airports, at this stage there has been no increase in waiting times at border controls at Paris airports linked to the system’s implementation. 

"Whenever there is excessive queuing, we revert to the manual procedure to prevent congestion at our facilities.

"In France, border control falls under the responsibility of the French police, with whom we work closely to ensure the best possible experience for our passengers.”

The spokesperson said, however, readers experiencing issues could submit a complaint to their customer service team, who would be able to investigate their negative experience, provide them with feedback, and report any malfunctions to the operational teams.

Other media reports of missed flights came from Spain and also Milan.

A Ryanair flight from Tours to Marrakesh departed without all passengers with delays being attributed to a gendarmerie inspection and EES-related checks.

Another Ryanair flight, from Toulouse to London, departed on May 30 leaving some 150 passengers behind, after long queues at border control meant many were unable to reach their gate on time. 

Ryanair attributed the issue to border control staff shortages. 

A passenger travelling with her children who just made it onto the flight said that four flights were due to board at around the same time, including services to Marrakesh, Tunisia, and two to London, leading to severe overcrowding at border control.

She said check-in was busy but manageable, and security was relatively quick. However, delays began after this point. "You didn't join a queue, because there was no queue to join. There was just a scrummage," she said. 

She said Ryanair appeared to keep the gate open for as long as possible, and that the issue was not related to airline handling.

Which queue to use? 

Some readers with French residency cards reported that on the ground border control staff invited them to use EU lanes to avoid longer ‘non-EU’ queues. 

This is not standard practice, and is not in place at all times and places, but appears to have been operated for practical reasons at several sites during late 2025 and in 2026.

As a result we advise cardholders to look out for airport staff and/or border officers (police or Douanes), and follow their instructions.

One reader said: “At Nice they sent us to the EU queue when we showed our residency cards on our last trip in April. However, we had been told on previous occasions that we have to go to the non-EU queue.”

Another said: “In December 2025, returning from the UK, I stood in the long queue for non-EU at Carcassonne airport, and when I reached the desk I  presented my WARP 10-year titre de séjour with my passport. I was told by the customs officer that I could have saved time by using the EU queue. 

“A few weeks later I did as advised and all went smoothly. I was through really quickly.”