When it's crowded, they turn off the new control system.

European authorities have allowed the temporary shutdown of entry and exit systems to reduce congestion at airports and border crossings.

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EES kiosks at Madrid airport, Photo: REUTERS
EES kiosks at Madrid airport, Photo: REUTERS
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

The new European Entry and Exit System (EES), which is based on facial recognition and fingerprinting, has caused huge crowds at numerous border crossings, so some airports have begun temporarily shutting it down to speed up passenger flow.

This practice is permitted by European Union rules and is applied when the number of passengers exceeds the capacity of border services. In such situations, passengers are temporarily exempted from the obligation to provide biometric data, and checks are carried out manually.

Air France-KLM said the system is turned off when there are heavy crowds at airports in Paris and Amsterdam during the summer season. Industry and regulatory officials say the same measure is being implemented in Frankfurt, Brussels and Milan.

The European Commission, under pressure from the tourism industry, approved a temporary relaxation of the rules until September 6. Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier explained that the regulations allow for the temporary suspension of biometric data collection in exceptional circumstances, particularly during the summer season, when the number of travelers is highest.

The system applies to citizens of countries that are not members of the European Union and the Schengen Area. Instead of having their passports stamped, travelers have to leave their fingerprints and take a photo at special terminals, after which the data is stored for three years. The aim is to more effectively detect identity fraud and overstays.

However, in practice, these procedures have proven to be much more time-consuming and staff-intensive than expected. The difficulties are further compounded by the fact that most passengers are registering in the system for the first time, which slows down the entire process.

The problems are particularly pronounced in tourist centers, where some passengers have missed flights and other connections due to hours-long waits. That's why eight European Union countries and Switzerland are calling for exemptions from the rules to be extended beyond September 6.

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