British holidaymakers heading to Europe could face significant queues at passport control this summer. Officials have warned that a new border system could trigger hours-long queues and missed flights.

Airlines and airport chiefs say the EU’s new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) is already causing major disruption and the worst is still to come when peak summer travel begins. Under the scheme, UK travellers must be fingerprinted and photographed when entering the Schengen zone, replacing passport stamps with digital records. But industry groups have now sounded the alarm after identifying three “critical problems” threatening holidays across the continent.

Magnus Brunner, the EU commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, warned that non-EU citizens are already experiencing “persistent excessive waiting times of up to two hours” prior to the peak holiday season.

This could increase to as much as four hours during peak periods this summer.

In a letter jointly signed by Olivier Jankovec, director general of Airports Council International (ACI) Europe; Ourania Georgoutsakou, managing director of Airlines for Europe (A4E); and Thomas Reynaert, senior vice-president of the International Air Transport Association (Iata).

They warned: “There is a complete disconnect between the perception of the EU institutions that EES is working well, and the reality, which is that non-EU travellers are experiencing massive delays and inconvenience.”

Currently, only 35% of people are required to undergo checks, with authorities having the ability to turn off the system to ease overcrowding.

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The letter added: “Failing immediate action to provide sufficient flexibility, severe disruptions over the peak summer months are a real prospect, with queues potentially reaching four hours or more.”

Officials say that travel chaos could be exacerbated by chronic staff shortages, unresolved technology failures with automated gates and poor uptake of a pre-registration app designed to speed up checks.

In December, Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe, cautioned that the expanding rollout “will inevitably result in much more severe congestion and systemic disruption for airports and airlines”. He warned that this could result in “serious safety hazards”.

Jankovec recently told the BBC that being able to pause the EES would be vital this summer if “the situation becomes unsustainable at border control”.

Last week, the EU indicated that it would be willing to be flexible with the policy but confirmed that there had been no formal extension to the rollout, which is due to be completed in April.

Markus Lammert, the European Commission spokesman, said: “The progressive deployment of the EES will end on April 9, 2026,” as he confirmed that member states would be able to partially suspend EES operations where necessary, for a period of up to 90 days.