Irish citizens are facing hours-long queues at European airports following the full implementation of the European Union's (EU) new Entry/Exit System (EES) .
Although these new biometric checks do not legally apply to Irish passport holders as they are EU citizens, they are still stuck in huge queues along with passengers from other countries due to the lack of infrastructure at airports.
What is the cause of this crisis?
The new law requires that non-EU citizens, as well as travelers from other countries including the UK and the US, have their fingerprints and face scanned and registered when they first enter the Schengen area. However, in recent months, border officials have been allowed to temporarily waive this rule when airports have become overcrowded. When the crowds have increased, they have been able to bypass the biometric machines and manually stamp passports.
But these temporary exemptions expired on September 6, 2026. . With this, the law came into force that the biometric information of every non-EU passenger must be accurately recorded through kiosks at airports, no matter how busy it is. At many airports, due to machine malfunctions and staff shortages, it takes a long time to check a passenger. This has led to queues that last for hours.
How are Irish travelers affected?
As Ireland is not part of the Schengen area, Irish citizens must go through passport controls when travelling to other countries in Europe. Irish citizens have been frustrated by the fact that many European airports do not have separate queues for EU and non-EU citizens. As a result, Irish citizens have been left waiting in line for hours alongside UK and US travellers, despite being exempt from the rule.
Current waiting times at airports in major tourist destinations such as Malaga and Alicante in Spain, Lisbon in Portugal, and Milan and Rome in Italy range from two to six hours. Leading travel organizations and airline companies are strongly criticizing this system.
New arrangements for airlines
Airlines have been forced to change their travel rules in light of the current border crisis. Leading Irish airline Ryanair They have increased their airport check-in and back drop time limit to 60 minutes from the current 40 minutes. The move is aimed at preventing passengers from missing their flights due to security checks and passport queues. Ryanair has also asked the European Union to ease the rules to address the problems with kiosks.
Things travelers should note
- 'EU/EEA/CH' when arriving at European airports Pay attention to the special Fast Tracks for passengers.
- If security staff unknowingly direct you to the non-EU biometric queue, you will be issued with an Irish EU passport. Try to convince them that it is true and change in a special way.
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