EU roll-out of biometric travel checks for international passengers postponed indefinitely

Germany, France and the Netherlands fear there will be passenger delays and say computers are not ready

The EU has delayed the introduction of facial recognition systems for airport passengers over IT fears. AFP

Fears over long passenger delays have led to a further postponement of the EU's new biometric entry-check system for non-EU citizens.

It was due to be introduced on November 10 but Germany, France and the Netherlands – who account for 40 per cent of all inward traffic to the EU – said their border computer systems were not yet ready. The roll-out has now been delayed indefinitely.

The Entry/Exit System (EES) is supposed to create a digital record linking a travel document to biometric readings confirming a person's identity, removing the need to manually stamp passports at the EU's external border.

It would require non-EU citizens arriving in the Schengen free-travel area to register their fingerprints, provide a facial scan and answer questions about their stay.

The technology has been used by some airlines in Abu Dhabi for the past year. Abu Dhabi Airports and Etihad Airways implemented the biometric systems across multiple touchpoints at the new terminal at Zayed International Airport last November and it plans to roll it out across all its operations in 2025.

But Germany's interior ministry said it was not ready to implement EES because the “necessary stability and functionality of the EES central system to be provided by the EU agency EU-Lisa is not yet in place”. EU-Lisa is the agency responsible for the implementation of large-scale IT systems in the EU.

“November 10 is no longer on the table,” said EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson. She said that as yet there is no new timetable, but the possibility of a phased introduction was being looked at, rather than a “Big Bang of all border crossing points at the same time”. Concerns had also been raised over the “resilience of the system”, she added.

First agreed in 2017, the automated system will record visitors' dates of entry and exit and keep track of overstays and refused entries.

But its upcoming introduction raised fears of queues and longer waiting times for people travelling to Europe on trains, ferries and planes. A British parliamentary committee earlier this year said some British passengers could initially expect delays of up to 14 hours.

The French interior ministry said that, while France was convinced of the usefulness of EES, its introduction must be prepared properly. The EES was initially meant to be introduced in the summer but concerns it could cause disruption during the Paris Olympics meant it was delayed to October and then November.