The EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) came into effect on October 12, introducing biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering or leaving the Schengen area.
France had stated that it would adopt a gradual implementation, limiting checks to two hours a day. The Connexion has received feedback from readers on what is happening as they pass through different French travel hubs.
If you have travelled recently please share your feedback on EES measures for other readers via feedback@connexionfrance.com
Bergerac airport
JP took a flight from Bergerac on October 21.
"There was a bit of a wait at passport control. After the works (resurfaced runway, café makeover, etc, reckoned to be finished by March 2026) there will be separate channels for EU and non-EU arrivals."
PS flew from Bergerac to the UK on October 14, returning on October 20.
"My wife and I have a six-month long stay visa and were within the timescale of its validity. At Bergerac my wife did not have her fingerprints and photograph taken whilst I was required to do so.
"When we flew back from London Stansted, we were at the end of the passport/customs queue. It took an hour and 15 minutes for us to reach the customs desk as most people were having their photo/fingerprints taken. We were not required to do so as we both showed our long stay visa to the official."
ML took a Ryanair flight from Bergerac to London Stansted on October 15.
"There were four passport control staff on duty whereas there are normally just two. I was asked if I lived in UK, then had my photograph taken as well as my fingerprints (four fingers of right hand). My British passport was then stamped."
Bordeaux airport
MH flew from Canada to Bordeaux 'just after October 12'.
"We had French and Irish passports and so were directed to the automatic ‘fastlane’. Joke. The booths presumably had a problem as only two of the three were working and the two that were working were taking about two minutes per passenger.
Luckily we were towards the front of the queue. One of the border guards had to leave his kiosk to open the booths manually on at least one or two occasions. We were just glad we were towards the front as it appeared as though the non-EU manual checks were being dealt with much quicker than those of us with an automatic right of entry."
Calais-Fréthun shuttle station
NO travelled on the Folkestone to Calais-Fréthun (Hauts-de-France) shuttle on October 12, at 08:30.
“The new sheds for check-in were all blocked off and everything went as if EES did not exist. They talked of a start in November.”
Carcassonne airport
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RC arrived at Carcassonne airport on October 12.
"There was not a scanning machine in sight!"
Corsica
SG travelled to and from Corsica last week (week beginning October 13).
"I hold a privée et familale residency card with a UK passport. There were no extra checks for me. Many other departing passengers were British and were subject to fingerprinting and facial photos at the police border kiosk.
"On the return journey, passengers were split into EU and non-EU queues, with the non-EU being fingerprinted and photographed. I used the EU channel with neither checks nor questions."
Geneva airport
DC flew into Geneva on October 22.
"Arriving at around midday, we completed the registration in about 30 seconds. However, passengers later had a two-hour wait. As Geneva is the airport of preference for most of the French ski resorts, I shudder to think the bottlenecks that are bound to occur during the ski season."
Limoges airport
JM flew from Limoges to London Stanstead on October 16.
"No checks were made."
Lyon airport
MS and JS travelled on the 06:30 flight from Manchester to Lyon on October 18.
"Our flight was the only one in the arrivals hall at 09:30. We noticed four machines at the back of the room glowing red, so apparently not in service. Of the four immigration desks, only two were manned. There was no reference to EES either in signage or by personnel and procedures were as usual. We were disappointed because it was a quiet, low season, journey and we hoped to get it over with."
Montpellier airport
RC travelled on the 8:00 easyJet flight from London Gatwick to Montpellier on October 20.
“Border Police were taking photos of faces and fingerprints from non EU passengers as well as stamping passports. The pre-registration kiosks were not in action. The process had to be repeated at least twice because of ‘gremlins’ in the system and took around 15 minutes for the two of us. Fortunately my wife and I were first in the queue but there was a very long queue behind us.”
PM also travelled from London Gatwick to Montpellier on the morning of October 18.
"Although the EES machines were not in use the three border kiosks were. Everything operated smoothly with photos taken as well as fingerprints. The interaction was easy and lasted about two minutes."
Nice airport
IS flew to Nice on October 16, arriving at 10:30.
“There were eight self-service kiosks sited just prior to reaching the customs hall at Terminal 1, all were covered so no data was taken. On the return flight (afternoon, October 19) there were another eight, just after going through the security/scanning checks, also covered.”
Ouistreham ferry port
DF arrived in Ouistreham (Normandy) at 22:00 on October 22.
"No sign of EES. There was heavy rain, and nowhere for the expected staff with tablets to shelter anyway. Usual stamps, out of port in 15 minutes from ferry arrival."
TS took the morning ferry from Ouistreham to the UK on October 12.
“We did not see anyone doing EES but there were more customs desks for passport checks. We live in France and have WARP cards [Brexit Withdrawal Agreement residency permits] and gave both to the customs agent with no problems. He wished us a pleasant journey. Not sure if we will get EES done on our return journey next week.”
Roscoff ferry port
JS took a ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff (Finistère) on October 17.
"On arrival my fingerprints were scanned as was my face. I even had to clean the fingerprint reader as it kept failing to register the four fingers of my right hand. No questions were asked by the border officials. As far as I am aware this was the shared experience of all the foot passengers on that ferry."
Toulouse airport
MM took a British Airways flight from London to Toulouse on October 20.
“No EES activities occurring as far as I could see. No queues, all flowing smoothly.”
AG also flew into Toulouse last week.
“I do not need to do EES as I am an EU citizen but the queues were slower than normal. They were being done manually by border police rather than using the machines. Each UK passenger was taking about two minutes.”
