Whether you’re OK with the European Union collecting your fingerprints and taking a facial image upon arrival, or you’re completely averse to that idea, one thing is clear: everyone’s annoyed about the crazy-long border queues and airport chaos seen across the pond lately. From passengers missing their flight connections to waits of up to 4–6 …

Well, well, well… the thing Brussels spent months insisting couldn’t happen just happened: After putting its foot down and sending a bloc-wide message that September 7, 2026 was effectively the point at which the special flexibility to pause biometric EES checks whenever airports deemed fit ran out, EU officials have blinked. They’ve now agreed to look the …

As of September 7, the European Union’s grace period for its new, controversial Entry/Exit System is officially over. Under the rules, border authorities no longer have the same freedom to suspend biometric collection simply because queues are getting out of hand, though enforcement may still vary somewhat while certain airports iron out their remaining technical …

Nearly 44,000 travelers have been flat-out refused entry into the European Union since the massive rollout of the new digital border control system. It sounds like a total nightmare scenario for anyone packing their bags for a summer getaway across the pond. The idea of flying all the way to Paris or Rome only to …

You know those long wait lines at European airports that keep popping up on your Instagram feed? Beyond just a minor inconvenience for some travelers, this has become a widespread phenomenon, even prompting airport officials to beg for help. Due to Europe’s newly launched Entry/Exit System (commonly abbreviated as EES), new arrivals to the EU must …

Nothing quite compares to munching a fresh-out-of-the-oven pastel de nata while strolling along the River Tagus, with views of Lisbon’s pastel-tinted, castle-studded skyline in the distance… but if your heart is set on Portugal this summer, you should brace yourself for some serious border hiccups. Europe’s new Entry/Exit System is now operating in full swing, …

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month or so, chances are you’ve come across the horror stories coming out of Europe lately. As in, the long, snaking wait lines starting at security and extending all the way to the exterior of the terminal building. They all have one main culprit: the …

From the cobbled streets, to the vintage cafés where you can gorge on all the home-baked bread and pastries you want without feeling bloated or putting on weight, to the medieval castles perched on hills that look like they were sketched by Walt Disney himself—or more like, inspired the legend, per se… Europe is calling …

Last year, the European Union took Americans by surprise when it started rolling out a new Entry-Exit System (EES) that involves fingerprinting all foreign visitors to ensure they comply with visitor rules. For context, as a tourist, you only get 90 days (out of any 180-day period) across the border-free Schengen Area, which comprises most …

You’ve booked the flights, dreamed of the culture and are counting down the days until your European getaway. But a new, high-tech security system being rolled out at major airports is turning that dream arrival into long lines and delays for Americans landing in some European destinations. While some Americans are flying through the new …

This year, Americans will start getting fingerprinted when traveling to most European countries, as part of the new Entry/Exit System applying to all non-European visitors. Commonly called EES, this new system will see the introduction of new biometric data collection kiosks across European airports. Once operational, tourists will need to give their fingerprints and scan …

Following in the footsteps of Croatia, which announced only last week that Americans will start getting fingerprinted once landing in the country, it’s now time for the second most popular destination worldwide to impose the same requirement. Having hosted a record-breaking 94 million tourists last year, only behind France, Spain is the second European country …