The European Union has rejected demands from airports and airlines to suspend its new post-Brexit entry/exit system (EES), which requires non-EU travellers to register fingerprints and facial images when entering the Schengen zone. With the peak summer holiday season about to begin, officials conceded the system was "not perfect" and acknowledged around 20 "difficult spots" causing queue chaos, but insisted a full suspension was "not needed" and "not possible". The decision matters for millions of travellers, including Britons, who face longer waits and potential disruption at popular holiday destinations.

Industry bodies including Iata and Ryanair had called for the controls to be paused until next summer, citing delays and missed connections in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and Belgium. Officials noted that only 20 of 1,500 border crossing points were problematic, with one small regional airport overwhelmed by 3,000 arrivals in an hour against just four biometric booths. The EU says the eight-years-in-the-making system, prompted by the 2015-16 Brussels and Paris attacks, has already logged 110m journeys and refused entry to roughly 44,500 people, including around 9,000 overstayers and more than 1,000 deemed security threats. Technical problems, notably with French systems at the £80m Eurotunnel setup, continue to delay full implementation, and the temporary opt-out for overwhelmed ports is due to end in September.