Millions of Brits setting off on trips to Europe this spring are warned to expect lengthy queues at border control at 10 major airports as the new digital system for non-EU travellers comes into force.
The introduction of the Entry-Exit System (EES), which began rolling out on 10 April, means many UK passengers will now need to register biometric details, such as fingerprints and facial recognition images, when entering the Schengen Area.
The added checks are expected to slow processing times at some of the busiest airports in Europe just as travel demand picks up.
According to a new study, based on data from the UK Civil Aviation Authority, more than 24.2 million passengers travelled between the UK and European destinations during April and May, 2025.
Many of those journeys were made at airports now bracing for the impact of delays relating to the EES rollout – and these are the ones set to be the busiest, based on last year’s data…
1. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Netherlands
The busiest – and potentially most affected – airport is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
Nearly 1.48 million passengers travelled through the Dutch hub in April and May, 2025, accounting for 6.1 per cent of all UK travellers.
More than 225,000 of those passengers travelled via London Heathrow Airport, highlighting the scale of traffic funnelling through one single entry point.
New travel rules caused disruption last week, with passengers waiting to have their passports checked at Schiphol in Amsterdam taking to social media to report delays of up to two hours.
One passenger in Amsterdam described ‘elderly people and parents with toddlers’ waiting in line for passport gates, ‘hardly any’ of which were open.
The airport’s website confirmed there were ‘long delays’.
2. Palma de Mallorca Airport, Spain
Spain’s most popular hotspots are also expected to be impacted by delays.
Palma de Mallorca Airport ranks second on the list after handing more than 1.27 million UK passengers – around a tenth of which travelled from Manchester Airport – during the two-month period.
Non-EU travellers have reportedly experienced delays of up to three hours at the airport, though this isn’t all the time.
Pedro Fiol, president of the travel agencies association in the Balearics, told Majorca Daily Bulletin: ‘Some days the operation runs relatively smoothly, but on other days, according to agencies and tour operators, from the moment the plane lands until passengers collect their luggage, more than two hours can pass, and even close to three hours in some specific cases.’
3. Alicante Airport, Spain
In April and May, 2025, Alicante processed more than 1.2 million passengers, earning it a third ranking on the list.
Around five per cent of those passengers arrived from the UK.
Spain’s police union recently reported the airport is being pushed to ‘breaking point’ over the EES system and lack of staff, according to the Olive Press.
4. Málaga Airport, Spain
Málaga processed more than 1.19 million passengers in April and May, 2025, with 4.9 per cent of these arriving from the UK.
Last week, a British holidaymaker was left stranded in Malaga with her daughter after missing her flight amid new EU travel rules.
Michelle Maguire, 38, and her daughter were due to fly back from Malaga to Liverpool on Saturday evening but did not make it home until 24 hours later after getting held up in travel chaos which eventually cost the family £1,000.
Ms Maguire painted the picture of a packed airport engulfed in bedlam with anxious travellers jostling for position and attempting to get through passport control via different entrances.
‘Everyone was panicking. Everyone was getting frustrated,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘Kids were crying.
‘There was no one attending the crowd which was making it worse. People were coming out and coming back in.’
5. Barcelona-El Prat Airport, Spain
Barcelona-El Prat Airport follows in fifth place with nearly 879,000 UK travellers in April and May, 2025.
Passengers that have recently travelled to El Prat at peak hours have reportedly experienced lengthy queues.
On Reddit, a parent shared how they were forced to stand in line with their crying children for more than three hours with ‘nowhere to go other than the restroom’, while alleging airport staff did ‘nothing to help’.
6. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, France
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, which ranked sixth, saw over 761,000 passengers from the UK during April and May 2025.
The airport is a major international hub where delays could intensify as travellers complete EES registration upon their arrival.
Aviation analytics provider Schengen90 reported 240-minute waits at Charles De Gaulle on Saturday, 11 April.
A parent who recently travelled with a child at what is believed to be at Charles de Gaulle airport wrote: ‘Absolutely ridiculous queue for passport control.
‘EU passport with a child under 12, I’ve been queuing for over two hours and still there’s at least a hundred people ahead of me.’
According to VisaHQ, France’s main hubs faced four-hour immigration queues and repeated equipment failures over the weekend.
Problems with IT systems and cyber security were reported, while many airports only recorded personal information and not biometrics, the European Commission and Airports Council International said.
Regarding France, and elsewhere, Olivier Jankovec said: ‘We need the ability to fully suspend EES registration whenever there are excessive waiting times at border control that are just unmanageable.’
‘Organised chaos’ was described.
7. Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport
Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, which welcomed 550,478 UK passengers in 2025, ranked seventh.
As Spain’s first airport to have rolled out the EES system in October 2025, it appears EES queues are more controlled than at other Spanish hubs.
Although many passengers have reported short queues, with priority lines for children, some claim that machines at the Madrid airport can be ‘sensitive’.
One person told told The Olive Press: ‘You have to press down hard on the passport for it to read, press fingertips down firmly to register.’
However, another said: ‘From luggage drop-off to gate, it took us about 20 minutes … including biometric capture and passport control.’
8. Frankfurt Airport, Germany
Ranking eighth as a major airport likely to experience lengthy EES queues is Frankfurt Airport, which saw 479,144 UK passengers pass through in 2025.
With the digital system now fully rolled out at airports across Germany, the FT has reported queues of up to three hours in some hubs.
VisaHQ said: ‘Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin reported queues of up to three hours as passengers were funnelled to biometric kiosks to give fingerprints and facial scans before proceeding to passport control.’
Berlin Airport’s website adds: ‘Travellers should expect longer waiting times, especially during the initial implementation phase. Even in the long term, border control may take more time due to the additional steps required for EES registration.’
9. Copenhagen Airport, Denmark
Copenhagen Airport, Denmark’s busiest hub, falls into ninth place. It handled 476,479 UK passengers in April and May 2025.
Those travelling back to the UK via the airport reported significant delays on Facebook, with one writing: ‘Queues at passport control were a nightmare (mainly because so few desks were open), which lead to a lot of people stressing that they would miss their flights.
‘Getting there three hours before wouldn’t have helped as you need to wait airside for your gate to be announced before going to passport control anyway, so you are at their mercy I’m afraid.’
According to information on the airport’s website, passengers ‘must be registered upon arrival at Copenhagen Airport.’
It added: ‘You will be guided to a digital self-service kiosk where you must register, enter information about your place of stay, and the purpose of your visit.’
10. Geneva, Switzerland
Rounding off the top 10 with more than 439,0000 UK travellers is Geneva airport, with many Heathrow and Gatwick arrivals making it another potential congestion point.
Although Switzerland is not an EU member, the checks, which are being rolled out across all 27 EU member states except Ireland and Cyprus, are also being rolled out there and in fellow non- EU countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as they are in the border-free Schengen area.
Last year, the airport experienced significant delays, with those arriving at Geneva for festive skiing holidays in December experiencing delays of up to four hours.
However, it appears disruption has waned for now, with travellers on Facebook reporting ‘no delays’ as of last week.
One person wrote: ‘No problem for us on a bank holiday Monday. We flew through. Quickest I’ve ever gotten through an airport.’
Another cautioned: ‘It can change daily depending on how many aircraft land around the same time as you. And how many staff are in. Impossible to tell. There is no “family” line though.’
