Brits heading on holiday during the summer months could get 'temporary relief' from the EES, which has caused travel chaos in recent months.

Ever since the European Union's (EU) new Entry/Exit System (EES) was fully rolled out on Friday, 10 April, there have been reports of major travel disruptions. Holidaymakers have been stuck in gruelling queues lasting up to four hours as they attempt to navigate through the digital border system, with missed flights and holiday plans torn apart.

The EES has replaced manual passport stamping and requires all Brits travelling to the Schengen area to "create a digital record" and register their biometric details, such as fingerprints and a photograph. Yet as it continues to cause turmoil at European airports, there have been growing concerns about how it will impact travel, particularly during the summer holidays, which is notoriously one of the busiest times to fly.

However, an EU official has said that European airports could ease EES requirements until September this year.

Uku Särekanno, Deputy Executive Director of Frontex, which helps to manage the external borders of the EU, said: "The biometric registration, taking fingerprints and facial images, is probably the most challenging part of the entry-exit system rollout."

He explained: "We have until the end of the summer, the possibility during the tourism season to lift the biometric controls or the biometric registration temporarily. If there is a peak hour, you see that there are hundreds of people queuing, their queues are getting too long, then member states still have the possibility to lift biometric registration."

"The EU has considered, for the period of summer, to make sure that there is still some relief for the worst-case scenario."

However, he explained that this is a "temporary relief and is ending in September". Särekanno also said at ABTA's Travel Matters conference that there is "no intention" of any further relaxation of the rules for the EES, as the procedures are expected to be "aligned by that time".

Yet, after the summer holidays, it could take up to two years for the EES to be "as smooth as possible". Särekanno explained: "We expect that the situation will stabilise in one or two years, because the most challenging part is the first enrolment."

Explaining further, he said: "Within the next two-year period, we will see that the first enrollment will be done. A significant number of visitors will not have to enrol by metrics anymore, so it will be a big relief for them."

Biometric data for the EES, including fingerprints and a photograph, is collected from travellers upon their first arrival at the airport border in the Schengen area. However, there have been reports that British holidaymakers have been asked to resubmit their biometric data, even after their initial visit.

In response to this, Särekanno said at ABTA's conference that this "needs to be corrected" by the border crossing point of the member state. He added: "We are on it and we are trying to ensure that there is a coherent approach to the border procedures."

"In these circumstances, we are putting a lot of effort into that to ensure that the practices will be harmonised," he concluded.

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