The specialist travel association Aito has warned that nationals of the UK will face significant delays, chaos, and confusion when travelling to the European Union once the new Entry/Exit System (EES) enters into force.
While noting that the system will undoubtedly improve customer experience in the longer term, Aito said that Britons will initially face significant delays when reaching the EU, Schengen.News reports.
At the same time, the association stressed that chaos and confusion among Britons would most likely be very high, in addition to long queues.
With customer awareness of the scheme currently extremely low, long queues, along with some unavoidable chaos and confusion, are unfortunately likely.
In order to make sure that nationals of the UK face as few inconveniences as possible when travelling to the EU when the EES becomes affected, it has been suggested that the government clarifies any potential pinch points and ensures that necessary contingency plans are ready to be implemented promptly if needed.
What is EU’s EES & How Will It Impact UK Nationals Travelling to EU?
The EU’s new system, the Entry/Exit System, is an automated IT system that will launch on November 10, 2024. As soon as the system is implemented, it will register Britons and all other non-EU travellers entering the bloc for short stays, whether or not they are eligible for visa-free entry.
The EES will replace manual stamping and will register all information of travellers, including their name, type of travel document, fingerprints and facial images, as well as the place of entry and exit from the European Union.
Apart from recording the entry and exit of travellers into the bloc, the EES will also register entry refusals and identify overstayers and foreigners who attempt to enter the territory of the EU on forged documents.
It will also help in the prevention of irregular migration to the EU and in the protection of the bloc’s security.
As soon as the EES is launched, UK nationals will have to register in the system in order to be permitted entry into the EU. When registering, Britons will be required to provide their personal information and biometric data.
The data will then be stored in a safe database for a period of three years. This means that Britons will now have to undergo the same process until their registered data expires.
