New EU Border Biometrics Spark Chaos for UK Holidaymakers: What Airport Transfer Drivers Need to Know

Airport transfer drivers and private hire operators face significant disruption to their European work as the EU’s new biometric border system causes chaos at major airports. The Entry/Exit System (EES), which became fully operational on 10 April 2026, has triggered delays of up to four hours at some border controls, leaving passengers stranded and wreaking havoc on carefully timed airport pickups.

For drivers working Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and other UK airports, the message is clear: passenger arrival times from Europe are now dangerously unpredictable.

What Is the Entry/Exit System?

As of 10 April 2026, the EES replaces the stamping of passports allowing the automatic detection of overstayers, according to the European Commission. The Entry/Exit System (EES) is the European Union’s new automated IT system for registering travelers from “third countries,” including the UK, the US, and Canada. Under the 2026 rules, every short-stay visitor entering the Schengen zone must provide fingerprints and have facial scans taken.

It launched on April 10, 2026, and applies to non-EU nationals traveling to or from the EU and the Schengen Area. The system captures biometric data both on entry and exit, meaning British passengers face the checks twice — once arriving in Europe and again when leaving to return home.

Airlines Issue Urgent Warnings

Major airlines including easyJet, Ryanair, and Jet2 have issued stark warnings to passengers about the chaos. EasyJet’s “Important Update” on their website is clear: Head to the gate as soon as it is announced. Do not wait for the “Final Call” on the monitor. In 2026, the final call is often the “Too Late” call.

A spokesman for Easyjet told the BBC that the border delays caused by the implementation of EES were “unacceptable”. “We continue to urge border authorities to ensure they make full and effective use of the permitted flexibilities for as long as needed while the European Entry/Exit System is implemented, to avoid these unacceptable border delays for our customers,” the statement said.

Ryanair, Jet2, and easyJet UK are calling for a temporary suspension of the European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES), as passengers face severe delays at border controls across multiple airports.

Real-World Chaos: 122 Passengers Stranded

The scale of the problem became clear within days of the system going live. At Milan’s Linate airport on Sunday, there were meant to be 156 passengers booked on an Easyjet flight to Manchester in the UK. After facing hours-long queues, only 34 passengers boarded the aircraft, leaving 122 behind in Italy, who “watched their plane depart without them”.

The airline held the flight for nearly an hour before departing, but crew limits forced it to leave without most of the passengers who had been stuck in passport control lines, where biometric checks slowed processing to what one traveler called a crawl. Some passengers paid thousands of pounds for alternative routes home.

Reports confirm that passengers are facing queues of up to three to four hours, leading to missed flights and widespread dissatisfaction.

“Systemic Failure” Warning from Industry

In a separate statement issued on Monday, A4E was even more scathing, saying that three hours queuing at border control is not an EES “teething issue”, it is a “systemic failure”. Airlines for Europe (A4E) and Airports Council International (ACI EUROPE) have jointly called for the European Commission to allow temporary suspensions of the system.

The worst delays have affected France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Greece thus far, according to the Guardian. The new system, which officially became fully operational on April 10, 2026, has created long queues at some of Europe’s busiest airports, with passengers waiting up to four hours to clear passport control.

What This Means for Airport Transfer Drivers

The implications for taxi and private hire drivers are serious. Passengers arriving from European destinations can no longer reliably predict their arrival time through passport control. Flight landing times no longer reflect when passengers will actually emerge into the arrivals hall.

Jet2 recommends arriving at the airport as early as possible and warns that the same biometric checks apply when leaving the EU to return to the UK, so don’t let your guard down on the way home. This means delays affect both outbound and return journeys.

Drivers should expect:

Significant delays between flight landing times and passenger pickup times
Increased wait times at airport pickup points
Passengers arriving stressed and frustrated after lengthy queues
Last-minute booking changes as passengers miss flights
Greater unpredictability when scheduling multiple airport runs

Will It Get Better?

France, Greece, Poland, and Spain are among the destinations reportedly not fully ready to process visitors through the new system. Greek authorities confirmed that, due to the delays experienced by UK passengers at border control, the EES would not be applied to UK citizens until further notice. Jet2 supported this decision and called for other EU member states to adopt similar measures during the summer season when travel demand is at its peak.

Chardell Robinson, vice president of corporate account management at Cadence Travel, says that despite these short-term headaches and delays, the EES will create “a much more streamlined process” in the long run. Once you submit your biometrics, you shouldn’t have to do so again moving forward.

However, with peak summer travel approaching, conditions may worsen before they improve. The aviation industry continues to lobby for temporary suspensions during the busiest periods, but the European Commission has so far maintained that the system will continue operating.

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