What has the EES brought? Chaos at the borders, many denied entry to the Schengen Area

As the National Association of Travel Agencies of Serbia (YUTA) reported today, the reasons cited for denying entry include not having the required visa, overstaying the permitted period of stay, and presenting forged travel documents.

Biometric checks have also helped uncover cases in which the same person was using different passports.

According to The Guardian, problems and bottlenecks, including longer waiting times and difficulties processing travelers, occurred at just 12 airports out of a total of 1,500 border crossing points.

Airlines have warned of long queues and the risk of passengers missing connecting flights.

In July, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) called for the system to be fully suspended, stating that passengers were missing connecting flights in Spain, Italy, Greece and Belgium because of the new checks.

Ryanair warned of “chaos in the queues” at airports, including Málaga and Palma de Mallorca.

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At the beginning of September, nine countries requested additional time for the full implementation of biometric checks. They included France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Malta and Switzerland.

According to the report, the delays in these nine countries do not apply to their entire territories, but only to individual border crossing points.

For the tourism industry, key concerns remain the impact of the EES on waiting times, transfer arrangements, connecting flights and the scheduling of travel packages, YUTA said.

So far, the available data do not provide a precise estimate of how much the system has affected tourist arrivals or travel cancellations.

The “Travel to Europe” pre-registration app, which allows travelers to register their facial photo and passport details before traveling, is expected to become available in seven countries soon, according to sources.

The app is currently active only in Sweden and Portugal.