In a 2 July statement picked up by Irish outlet Extra.ie, Ryanair warned that seven European airports are already suffering long queues because of the EU’s new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) and called for the rollout to be paused until September. Although Cyprus is not yet inside Schengen – and therefore does not implement EES at Larnaca or Paphos – thousands of Cyprus-based holiday-makers and business travellers fly daily to the affected hubs, including Milan-Bergamo and Kraków. EES, which went live across most Schengen external borders in April, requires non-EU passengers to submit fingerprints and a facial image on first entry, adding several minutes per traveller. Ryanair’s chief operations officer Neal McMahon says staffing and kiosk shortfalls at peak times could push wait times past two hours this summer. The airline fears a repeat of the four-hour Dover tailbacks seen in May when a similar system clashed with holiday traffic. For Cyprus residents heading to mainland Europe, the advice is straightforward: build extra buffer time into connections, especially if your first point of entry is one of the bottleneck airports. Travel-management companies are already adjusting recommended minimum connection times and urging passengers to use eGates where available.
![Ryanair flags airport bottlenecks linked to EU Entry/Exit System – what it means for Cyprus travellers]()
For travellers who also want to make sure their paperwork is airtight before they even leave Cyprus, VisaHQ’s local portal (https://www.visahq.com/cyprus/) provides a one-stop shop for checking visa requirements, submitting applications and receiving real-time alerts on rule changes such as the new EES procedures—saving time and hassle at the border.
Corporate mobility teams should also note that strikes compound the problem. Italian ground-handling staff plan a 5 July walkout, while French air-traffic-control unions remain a wildcard. Even indirect flights over French airspace can face knock-on delays, affecting Cypriot operations that rely on just-in-time travel for project start-ups or client meetings. Although Cyprus itself escapes EES queues for now, the island intends to join Schengen later this decade. Lessons from the current rollout – namely the need for sufficient biometric kiosks and clear passenger communications – will be invaluable when the system eventually reaches Larnaca and Paphos.
For travellers who also want to make sure their paperwork is airtight before they even leave Cyprus, VisaHQ’s local portal (https://www.visahq.com/cyprus/) provides a one-stop shop for checking visa requirements, submitting applications and receiving real-time alerts on rule changes such as the new EES procedures—saving time and hassle at the border.
Corporate mobility teams should also note that strikes compound the problem. Italian ground-handling staff plan a 5 July walkout, while French air-traffic-control unions remain a wildcard. Even indirect flights over French airspace can face knock-on delays, affecting Cypriot operations that rely on just-in-time travel for project start-ups or client meetings. Although Cyprus itself escapes EES queues for now, the island intends to join Schengen later this decade. Lessons from the current rollout – namely the need for sufficient biometric kiosks and clear passenger communications – will be invaluable when the system eventually reaches Larnaca and Paphos.
