While online check-ins are designed to avoid long queues at the airport, many travellers have faced chaos while queuing at passport control this summer.
And now, as the European Union’s new biometric Exit/Entry System (EES) is underway, people are being faced with even more lengthy queues and malfunctioning equipment, forcing border staff to process arrivals manually.
One couple, who were travelling from Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon in June, revealed they missed their easyJet flight due to huge queues at passport control.
Em Cunningham told The Times: ‘After a fantastic holiday in Portugal in June, my husband and I checked in online for our easyJet flight before arriving early at Lisbon airport for the bag drop.
‘We saw the large queue of people snaking around the airport and were told the queue was for passport control and would take 1.5 to two hours to get through.
‘There was no mention of delays in the check-in email, no mention of the delay at bag drop and no easyJet staff in the airport.’
But as they joined the queue, it continued to grow.
‘The people in front and behind had been advised by their travel operators to arrive three hours early, and their bag drop had been opened earlier to accommodate them,’ Em continued.
Pictured: Queues of passengers at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport arrivals waiting for immigration border control processing for up to three hours in June 2025
‘Eventually, we got through passport control and ran to the gate only to be refused boarding as it was too late.
‘As we explained the problem and pleaded for help, more travellers joined us having got through passport control.
‘Nine of us stood in disbelief. We had to book and pay for another flight home, go back through passport control, collect our luggage and wait for our new flight.
‘EasyJet has denied any responsibility but has offered to support us with an insurance claim.’
The Times’s Travel Doctor Julia Brookes replied: ‘This horrendous delay wasn’t a one-off and far too many passengers at Lisbon and Faro airports have missed their flights due to the huge queues at passport control this summer.
‘The airports blame the government for not employing enough staff while the government accuses the airports of scheduling too many flights close together.
‘But airlines can’t be held responsible for airport snarl-ups and easyJet insists you were informed by email about the delays and there were further updates on its app and Flight Tracker.
‘It said: “We recommend that customers have comprehensive travel insurance to cover for unforeseen circumstances, and we have offered to provide Mr Cunningham with the supporting documentation they need to make a claim with their travel insurance provider.”’
The new entry-exit border check system came into force over the weekend across Europe
It comes as the new Entry-Exit system (EES) is rolled out across major European airports and many travellers have reported huge queues.
For a system which is designed to make going through airport checks faster, it already appears to be having a severe impact on travel, including some people reportedly left waiting for three hours at Brussels Airport this week.
The EU implemented the EES system at its external borders on Sunday, allowing border control officials to dispense with passport stamps.
Under the new system, non-EU nationals travelling to 29 (mainly EU) countries must register their fingerprints and agree to be photographed.
Participating countries must also log travellers’ entry and exit dates.
One passenger told The Brussels Times that she was left waiting in a queue for almost three hours upon arrival at Brussels Airport on Monday.
Rebecca Wells, who was travelling with a US passport, said that the queue for EU passports was ‘considerably shorter’ and went much faster than the one for arrivals from outside the EU.
‘There was nobody there to brief you or tell you what was going on,’ she said.
The EU implemented the EES system at its external borders on Sunday, allowing border control officials to dispense with passport stamps
And when it came to the new EES system, Rebecca said that her passport was ‘stamped like normal’.
She said: ‘There was a spot to put fingerprints, but he didn’t ask for fingerprints and didn’t ask me any questions, and I didn’t have to fill out a form or anything.’
When The Brussels Times approached Brussels Airport for comment, they could not confirm whether the long wait times were due to the EES system.
A spokesperson for the Federal Police, which is responsible for the airport’s border control, told the publication that the long wait time was due to ‘a combination of factors’.
