EU entry-exit system: which airports are the busiest for biometric checks – and when?

“Make sure, where possible, you’re leaving yourself between three to four hours from the entry point” – that was it Strong warning from travel industry leader Julia Lo Beau-SayedChief Executive of Advantage Travel Partnership. She was speaking on the eve of the roll-out of European Union Entry-Exit System (EES) on Sunday 12 October.

Ms Lo-Beau Saeed added: “You may be going to a concert, you may be going to a meeting, you may be going to a wedding, to a cruise.

“If you’re not leaving yourself enough time and unfortunately you arrive at an airport where there’s a bottleneck, which in many places already exists, it’s going to add another layer of frustration and delay.”

So what are the places that are likely to be the busiest? Is there a specific time for avoidance or favoritism? And conversely, where and when will the queues be minimal?

These are the main questions and answers.

What is the problem?

Space is absolutely at a premium airportsEntry-Exit System Registration kiosks are expensive. Therefore the number of kiosks in the hub is strictly limited. And by analyzing flight schedules, it is possible to identify crisis points when too many passengers arrive who need screening.

For example, on palma De Mallorca in Spain, starting at 12.20, seven flights carrying more than 1,200 passengers from the UK arrive in just half an hour. I count about 60 kiosks at the airport. Make the following assumptions:

At 12.20am, when at least three flights carrying 540 people are due to arrive simultaneously from Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester, it will take 18 minutes for these flights to be cleared. By this time a plane has arrived from Belfast, which would have made the situation even worse – except that some of those passengers would have wisely opted for an Irish passport, which would have allowed them to turn the whole miserable business around.

Behind them, passengers from Newcastle, Glasgow and Gatwick are standing in the queue.

Similar crowd is likely to be seen at popular places too airports With many flights from the UK.

At Faro, Portugal, a similar sequence of seven UK flights in 30 minutes starts at 9.50am on Saturday.

small airports There are fewer kiosks, meaning a Saturday evening UK surge in Heraklion in Crete could put a strain on the system: seven arrivals in less than two hours, augmented by flights from Tel Aviv – many of whose passengers will also need clearance.

When is a good time to land at leisure airports?

The possibility of flying as soon as possible may be a good bet. The first EES-required arrival at Alicante on Saturday is Ryanair’s 5.45am departure from Liverpool, arriving at 9.25am.

Anything else to be aware of for holiday flights?

Being first off the plane has never been more important. Seats at the front of the plane are likely to be the loudest, although on airlines like Ryanair that traditionally use both front and rear stages, being towards the back can also be an advantage.

If flights are disrupted, be aware that lines may become uncomfortably long. For example, suppose an airport in the Canary Islands is closed due to bad weather or a sandstorm. When flights resume, arrivals from the UK are expected to occur every few minutes.

Where else are the pain points?

The largest European centers are Amsterdam, Frankfurt and paris cdgMany passengers arriving at these airports are citizens of the Schengen Area, and therefore alter the entry-exit system. But especially in the morning, there are a large number of flights scheduled to land from long distance destinations.

At Paris CDG, the first 15 minutes of the morning wave draws at least nine people from Tokyo, Montreal, Santiago, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Abidjan, New York, Beijing and Dubai. Even if only one in three passengers requires an entry-exit system, that is about 1,000 people.

Are there any times and places particularly worth avoiding?

Meeting Malpensa in the early afternoon. Middle East arrivals from Jeddah, Dubai (an Airbus A380 superjumbo) and Doha include warm-up work for the Ryanair flight from Manchester. Expect a long, long wait.

Where are you likely to have the shortest wait?

luxembourgEfficient airports, small aircraft, and many of them are Schengen area citizens and do not require EES checks. However, it’s probably best to avoid Thursday 7pm, when Europe’s most unusual intercontinental flight – CZ677 from Zhengzhou to Luxembourg – touches down.

And on the way home?

It is also necessary to check the entry-exit system upon departure. Romanian authorities say: “We recommend that third-country nationals subject to EES procedures, especially in the context of air travel, arrive at the airport with extra time before their scheduled international flights.”