EU's New Border System Has Nearly Tripled Wait Times at Rome Airport, Boss Says

Rome's main airport is telling British travellers to budget three times longer at passport control this summer — and the boss there says the EU's new digital border system is why. The European Commission calls the disruption "limited in most EU airports." Both can be true, and the gap between one airport operator's lived view and Brussels' official line is the story.

The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) requires non-EU citizens entering the Schengen area — 29 European countries — to register fingerprints and a facial photo on arrival. The data is checked again on exit. Travellers use standalone automated kiosks, though children under 12 and some other categories go through with a border officer. The system launched on 12 October 2025, and airports across Europe have been phasing it in since.

The claim: three times longer

The chief executive of Rome Fiumicino — Italy's busiest international gateway — told the BBC in a published report on 19 July 2026 that the new process has nearly tripled the time it takes British passport holders to clear border control, even after hardware and software improvements have been rolled out. The claim is specific to Fiumicino; it is not a measured cross-EU average.

Passengers at the airport this month have backed that characterisation with extended queues. One Yorkshire family told the BBC they waited two hours from plane to processed — "I knew it was going to be bad, but not as bad as that." A US tourist and his wife Marlo said their queue took roughly an hour and they missed their pre-booked driver. A traveller from Bracknell recorded 45–50 minutes because some kiosks were not working. In some cases, passengers have missed connecting flights entirely.

Border police at Portugal's Faro airport told the BBC the EES technology suffered from bugs, but insisted queues would shorten as staff and systems bedded in.

The counterpoint: limited disruption

The European Commission disputes any generalisation. In a published statement, the EC said disruption is "limited in most EU airports" and that it will continue to support member states in implementation "to the fullest extent possible." That phrasing matters: it acknowledges the existence of disruption while arguing it is contained — a characterisation backed by the fact that not all airports are reporting Rome-scale queues.

The divergence is real but not contradictory. A single airport authority with a high-profile non-Schengen entry corridor and a large UK tourist market — Fiumicino — has a concentrated incentive to flag problems loudly. Brussels is speaking to 29 countries and a system still in rollout. Both statements can be accurate for their respective scopes.

The airline warning

Ryanair, Europe's largest short-haul carrier, has taken the sharpest corporate position. It publicly labelled the rollout a "failed EES rollout" and advised UK passengers to "allow extra time for their journey and be prepared for extended waits at passport control." The airline separately said seven airports were "not ready" for summer volumes — a claim carried by regional outlets including the Nottingham Post, though the specific airports were not independently verified in the available sources.

Ryanair's incentive is also distinct: any systemic border delay that lengthens turnaround times eats into its punctuality record and cost-per-flight model. Its alarm is real but professionally motivated.

What to know before you fly

For travellers heading to a Schengen airport this summer — particularly Fiumicino or other high-traffic entry points — the practical picture is this: non-EU citizens, and specifically UK and other third-country passport holders, should plan for additional time at passport control. The kiosks are the new normal; when they work smoothly the process adds roughly a minute per person, but hardware failures and enrolment bottlenecks have caused backlogs at some airports that took passengers more than an hour to clear.

Children under 12 are processed by a border officer rather than a kiosk, so families should factor that into their queue planning. At airports where the system is running well — and the EC argues most fall into that category — the impact on overall journey time may be modest. At airports still working through bugs, it may be the defining experience of the trip.

The European Commission and national border authorities say they are actively monitoring and supporting the rollout. Whether that support translates into faster queues before the end of peak season depends on which airport you land in — and which Brussels official you're inclined to believe.