Europe's new digital Entry/Exit System is intended to make external-border control more secure, consistent and efficient. Its first full summer has exposed a harder operational truth. Biometric enrolment, uneven local capacity and peak traffic can create long queues that disrupt connections and reshape the commercial journey through an airport.
- The EES has been fully operational since 10 April 2026 across 29 European countries.
- Friction is concentrated around first-time enrolment, seasonal peaks, physical capacity and staffing.
- For travel retail, a border queue is not useful dwell time. It can reduce browsing, compress demand into waves and shift spend between terminal zones.
What is happening with the EES
The Entry/Exit System digitally records entries, exits and refusals for non-EU travellers making short stays. It replaces manual passport stamps with passport data, facial images, fingerprints and the time and place of each border crossing. The European Commission says the system is used by 29 countries and has been fully operational since 10 April 2026.
EES calculates authorised stay and helps detect document fraud. During the progressive rollout, the Commission recorded more than 45 million border crossings, 24,000 refusals and 600 people considered a security risk.
The problem appears when the digital infrastructure meets the airport's physical limits. ACI Europe said in March that waits were regularly reaching up to two hours at peak times. By July, airports and airlines were reporting queues of up to five hours and asking for more flexibility before the summer peak. The ACI Europe open letter warned that July and August would bring roughly 40 million more airport passengers than the previous two months.
Why queues are forming
First-time enrolment adds more steps
A traveller using the system for the first time must present a document, provide a facial image and, where required, register fingerprints. The process may take place with an officer or through self-service, depending on the border. Later trips should be quicker, but the benefit takes time to emerge while a large share of traffic still needs initial enrolment.
Digital capacity still depends on physical capacity
More kiosks are not enough. Flow also depends on space, signage, booths, connectivity and staff who can handle exceptions.
Seasonality magnifies the pressure
Tourism airports receive concentrated waves by time, nationality and flight type. EES applies specifically to non-EU travellers, so some routes and terminals carry much more workload than others. A daily average may look manageable while hiding a 45-minute bottleneck created by several long-haul arrivals at once.
Travellers are still learning the process
Unprepared passports, families, exemption questions and failed biometric capture add time. The EU provides guidance and pre-registration at some border points, but availability is uneven.
Arrival wave
Several routes release non-EU passenger flows into the same control point.
Biometric check
Document scan, facial image, fingerprints and exception handling add processing time.
Queue risk
Capacity, space, staffing and traveller readiness determine the bottleneck.
Commercial time
Usable shopping time falls, or passengers arrive in waves after the queue clears.
Response
Operations, stock, service messages and assistance adjust by route and time window.
The commercial impact depends on where the queue appears and how much usable time remains after the border check.
What it means for tourism and travel retail
The first effect is lower predictability. Passengers may arrive earlier, spend longer in a non-commercial zone and clear the border in groups. That changes footfall across food and beverage, shops, lounges, baggage reclaim and ground transport.
Businesses should avoid a common mistake: queue time is not dwell time. A passenger who fears missing a flight stops exploring, buys only what is necessary and moves quickly. On departure, a delay may remove post-control shopping time. On arrival, it can postpone baggage collection, transfers and spending at the destination. The exact impact depends on each terminal layout.
Marksyte's analysis of safety, value and ease of access showed that travellers judge the whole journey. EES is a concrete example. Border experience can shape perceptions of an airport, airline and destination even when no single business controls the entire process.
Opportunities by business type
Design for fast purchase
Portable formats, clear packs, hydration and immediate-need products fit journeys with uncertain time.
Reduce anxiety
Assistance, insurance, connectivity, rebooking, mobility and translation can activate when disruption risk rises.
Forecast the bottleneck
Connect flights, aggregated traveller mix, process times, staffing, incidents and occupancy.
Protect connections
Alerts, realistic minimum connection times and proactive rebooking can reduce losses and claims.
Redesign the flow
Signage, virtual queues, pre-registration, mobile staff and flexible space can absorb peaks.
Adapt operation and range
Stock, staffing and promotion should reflect usable commercial time, not flight schedules alone.
Protect the arrival
Flexible transfers, late check-in and proactive messaging reduce the effect of a delayed airport exit.
Manage the first impression
Coordinated information, transport and visitor support can separate destination value from border friction.
Do you know how much commercial time each route loses when border control exceeds capacity?
Risks and practical barriers
Promising an exact time is risky. Models should provide a range, confidence level and likely cause.
Biometrics should not become commercial data. Personalisation must rely on aggregated or consented information kept separate from border systems.
Governance is fragmented across border police, airports, airlines, technology, retail and handling. Without shared rules, the passenger still experiences a broken process.
Not every queue has the same cause. Staffing, equipment, space, flight waves and traveller preparation require different responses.
How Marksyte can help
Marksyte can turn border friction into a measurable variable within commercial and operational planning.
Queue forecasting
Models by terminal and time window using flights, capacity, processing time and incident data.
Route analysis
Identify routes and connections with the highest EES exposure and the greatest effect on spend and punctuality.
Operational planning
Recommend staffing, replenishment, checkout opening, mobility and assistance under congestion scenarios.
Assortment and promotion
Adapt formats, categories and messages to usable time, urgency and the aggregated profile of each flow.
AI assistants
Provide multilingual instructions and approved answers for teams and passengers, supported by live alerts.
Commercial measurement
Link waiting time with footfall, conversion, spend, complaints and punctuality to quantify the real cost.
A practical 90-day agenda
- Map the journey. Identify where border control occurs, which commercial zones sit before and after it, and which routes contain the highest share of affected passengers.
- Build a baseline. Measure waiting time, usable time, footfall, conversion, spend, missed connections and complaints by time window.
- Select three pilots. Test one operational alert, one fast-purchase proposition and one assistance service across different routes.
- Define action rules. Decide what changes when waiting time exceeds 30, 60 or 90 minutes and who owns each response.
Digital border management can improve security and flow as enrolment matures and capacity adjusts. The benefit will not arrive automatically. Airports and travel retail must treat border control as part of the commercial system.
The advantage will belong to organisations that identify where time is lost, how behaviour changes and which intervention reduces friction without weakening privacy or security.
Frequently asked questions about EES and airports
Who is affected by the EES?
It applies to non-EU travellers crossing the external borders of participating European countries for a short stay. There are exemptions, so travellers should check the official guidance before travel.
Why can EES create queues?
First-time registration includes document checks and biometric capture. Delays grow when many new travellers arrive together, space or staffing is limited, equipment fails or information is unclear.
How does it affect travel retail?
It can reduce commercial time, release passengers in waves and shift demand between zones. It also creates opportunities for fast purchase, assistance, flow forecasting and contextual communication.
Sources
- European Commission, Entry/Exit System overview and participating countries.
- European Commission, full operation and early EES results, 30 March 2026.
- ACI Europe, disruption risks before full rollout, 30 March 2026.
- ACI Europe, open letter on EES and the summer peak, 1 July 2026.
- Travel to Europe, how EES works during border checks.
- Travel to Europe, data held and retention periods.
- The Guardian, EU response and border points facing difficulties, 7 July 2026.