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Alsharq Tribune- Mohamed Al Otaify
Switzerland has joined at least 9 countries in suspending new biometric checks at airports after the new rules brought chaos for UK travellers. Flight hubs across the European Union and beyond have recently implemented the new Entry/Exit System (EES) to replace manual stamping.
The IT system registers non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay each time they cross the external borders of almost thirty countries using the system. Nations taking part include 25 EU states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
EES requires biometric checks including finger print scans and having a high resolution photo taken for facial recognition.
It has been designed to make processing quicker, and provide greater security by collecting information that can help prevent people overstaying, abusing visa free travel, or attempting to pass through under a false identity.
But the technology isn't well established yet, and only began being rolled out in 2025. The 29 countries using it were then required to have it up and running by April 10.
And while it may well streamline the process for non-EU passengers in the years to come, the registration of people on the system for the first time has reportedly caused major bottlenecks at airports across Europe.
It's particularly problematic for Britons travelling to neighbouring EU countries, as UK citizens are now treated as "third country nationals" post-Brexit and have lost the ease of processing enjoyed by citizens of nations within the bloc.
It means being on the European continent, Britons now face the same passport rules as Americans and Australians, and must pass through the EES when they visit popular tourist hotspots like Spain, Italy, and Greece.
Prior to the April deadline, border authorities were permitted to completely suspend EES if queues became unmanageable. But they're are now only able to put a partial suspension in place in these situations, meaning officials don't have to do the biometric collection but still have to do a digital check (i.e. scanning your biometric passport or entering in the data into the system manually if that isn't possible).
Several countries have opted to do so after it resulted in massive delays, the latest of which is Switzerland, as per Travel World and Tour.
It follows eight other other major European travel destinations taking the decision, including Germany, Greece, France, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Portugal, as per the outlet.
Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert explained: "After the completion of the roll-out, Member States will still be able to partially suspend EES operations where necessary during a period of an additional 90 days with a possible 60-day extension to cover the summer peak.
"This is foreseen in the legislation and will give MS the necessary tools to manage potential extended queues." It follows concerns from airports the new system will result in big queues during peak summer travel, as per ETIAS.com.
