Speaking to reporters on 5 July, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged that the roll-out of the Entry/Exit System is generating “unacceptable wait-times” at several Mediterranean airports. She confirmed that the EU’s Joint Research Centre is deploying software patches to improve fingerprint-scanner accuracy and that a rapid-deployment team could be sent to Rome-Fiumicino and Athens within 10 days. According to travel-analytics firm AirPortal, error rates in capturing first-time fingerprints stand at 14 % in Italy versus the EU target of 1 %.
![EU works on technical fixes to biometric border checks after Italy joins criticism]()
For travellers looking to stay ahead of potential delays, VisaHQ can streamline the visa side of the journey by checking entry requirements, pre-processing application forms, and arranging courier pick-ups through its Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/), ensuring that once biometric hurdles are cleared, paperwork will not be a bottleneck.
Airlines warn of “queue chaos” unless fixes arrive before 1 August, when daily non-EU arrivals typically exceed 120,000. Ryanair’s chief executive has threatened to reroute some trans-Schengen flights to secondary airports if congestion persists. Von der Leyen ruled out a blanket suspension of EES but said Brussels is “open to calibrated derogations,” including extended grace periods for families with children under 12 and fast-track channels for accredited business travellers. She praised Italy for testing a mobile-enrolment van at Milan-Malpensa that pre-records biometrics during check-in for selected corporate clients, cutting arrival time in half. Businesses should monitor carriers’ contingency timetables and remind travellers that once the initial registration is complete, exit and subsequent entry are significantly faster. The Commission will publish updated operational guidelines on 12 July.
For travellers looking to stay ahead of potential delays, VisaHQ can streamline the visa side of the journey by checking entry requirements, pre-processing application forms, and arranging courier pick-ups through its Italy portal (https://www.visahq.com/italy/), ensuring that once biometric hurdles are cleared, paperwork will not be a bottleneck.
Airlines warn of “queue chaos” unless fixes arrive before 1 August, when daily non-EU arrivals typically exceed 120,000. Ryanair’s chief executive has threatened to reroute some trans-Schengen flights to secondary airports if congestion persists. Von der Leyen ruled out a blanket suspension of EES but said Brussels is “open to calibrated derogations,” including extended grace periods for families with children under 12 and fast-track channels for accredited business travellers. She praised Italy for testing a mobile-enrolment van at Milan-Malpensa that pre-records biometrics during check-in for selected corporate clients, cutting arrival time in half. Businesses should monitor carriers’ contingency timetables and remind travellers that once the initial registration is complete, exit and subsequent entry are significantly faster. The Commission will publish updated operational guidelines on 12 July.
