Guardian: Nine EU states delay EES biometrics – Finland stays on schedule, offers ‘fast-lane’ for winter tourists

A Guardian investigation published on 14 September revealed that nine EU countries, including France, Greece and Italy, have requested more time to roll out fingerprint capture under the new Entry/Exit System (EES). Finland is not on the list; border authorities confirmed to the paper that HEL and all major land and sea checkpoints remain on track to enforce full facial-image and fingerprint capture for third-country nationals by 6 October. Finland’s readiness gives it a competitive edge in winter tourism. Finavia and Visit Finland plan to market a dedicated ‘EES Fast-Lane’ at Helsinki Airport, where passengers arriving on long-haul flights can complete pre-registration via the Travel to Europe app and use automated e-gates. Trial runs this summer cut average arrival processing times to eight minutes, compared with 25-minute queues reported at some southern-European airports. For employers, Finland’s compliance means fewer surprises for staff rotations. However, mobility managers must verify that non-EU employees’ fingerprints and photos are in the EES database before onward travel to partner countries that may still have partial roll-outs, to avoid mismatched exit records. Finnish Border Guard officials say they will assist travellers transiting to the delayed countries by printing confirmation slips of successful biometric capture. Airlines have been briefed to accept the slips as proof of EES registration until all EU partners are aligned, likely by early 2027. Companies with time-sensitive cargo flights should also benefit; Customs expects fewer secondary inspections once the biometric system flags repeat low-risk crews. Overall, Finland’s punctual implementation contrasts with the southern hiccups and positions the country as a reliability benchmark within Schengen.