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Travellers heading to European destinations, including Spain, Italy and France, have been warned of possible delays at airports and passport control. The setbacks stem from the implementation of a new biometric border system across the European Union, with countries struggling to adapt to the rollout.

The European Entry/Exit System (ESS) will be replacing the traditional passport stamp for non-EU visitors, including British holidaymakers. It has been slowly implemented across countries since October 2025, and currently, a third of EU nations use the system.

However, problems such as staffing shortages, kiosk congestion, and terminal layout issues at major airports are said to be causing significant delays of up to six hours for some travellers, prompting the European Commission to discreetly push back the full implementation date from April 2026 to September 2026, reports the Mirror.

The BBC has reported that a spokesperson for Geneva Airport has acknowledged that implementing the EES has posed a "major challenge for Swiss customs and Geneva Airport," which is experiencing three-hour delays.

There also appears to be delays across the Canary Islands, with Olivier Jankovec, the director general of Airports Council International Europe, stating that border control processing times have surged four to five times longer under the ESS, with people waiting up to two hours.

Mr Jankovec claims the delays are down to insufficient staffing and faulty equipment, and warns that if improvements are not made, delays of up to six hours could occur during the peak summer months.

Markus Lammert, European Commission spokesperson for Internal Affairs, however, claims that they system had functioned "largely without issues".

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) highlighted that border officials weren't fully utilising their powers to scale back checks when required. The organisation urged authorities to develop better contingency strategies for peak periods and ensure frontline personnel properly understand regulations and their flexibility to implement them.

An ABTA spokesperson explained: "The underuse of the measures has meant that there have been occasions where passengers have unnecessarily been caught up in lengthy delays going through passport control, which can have a knock-on impact for their onward travel.

"Under the contingency measures, border authorities are allowed to stand down the system, or limit the number or extent of checks, to avoid significant disruption and large queues."

This development follows the Home Office's release of guidance for the 1.26 million Brits who currently hold dual citizenship. Starting February 25, 2026, dual British nationals must present either a valid British passport or a Certificate of Entitlement when entering the UK.

The Home Office cautioned that carriers would be verifying passengers hold appropriate documentation.