Ryanair has urged passengers to bear in mind that it might have an effect on their vacation
Ryanair has cautioned passengers that they face disruption within the coming days. The funds airline has issued emails to travellers flying from the UK into a lot of Europe.
It warns of ‘longer queues, notably at busy airports’. The trigger is the brand new Entry and Exit System (EES), just lately launched by the European Union (EU). This requires all travellers from the UK and different non-EU nations to be photographed and fingerprinted at EU airports and border crossings.
The brand new system is designed to exchange handbook passport stamping and extra effectively monitor the 90-day visa-free restrict, and there have been widespread stories of hours-long delays at busy airports. It has even been suspended occasionally to ease the mounting backlog.
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In its message to clients titled ‘Necessary: Modifications to Passport Management’, Ryanair states: “From 10 April 2026, the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) is in place in any respect Schengen Space exterior borders. In consequence, passport management could take longer for some passengers.
“You’re affected should you maintain a non‐EU / non‐EEA / non‐Swiss passport (e.g. UK, USA, Canada, Australia), and are flying into or out of the Schengen Space.”, stories the Liverpool Echo.
“Generally affected routes embody flights between the Schengen Space and nations similar to: UK, Eire, Cyprus, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Türkiye, Egypt, Israel and others.
“At passport management it’s possible you’ll must:
Scan your passport
Present fingerprints
Have a facial picture taken
These checks could trigger longer queues, notably at busy airports. Queues could type earlier than safety.
If affected, please:
Arrive on the airport early to permit for queues
Have your journey paperwork prepared
Observe indicators marked EES / Passport Management
Those that will not be affected:
EU, EEA and Swiss passport holders
Flights inside the Schengen Space (e.g. Spain–Italy, France–Germany)
“In case you are denied entry, this might be on account of EU coverage, not Ryanair’s guidelines.”
Greece has reportedly opted to pause the EES rollout following appreciable delays. An announcement on the Greek Embassy web site and posts throughout official social media channels confirmed: “Within the framework of the implementation of the Entry/Exit System, as of 10 April 2026, British passport holders are exempt from biometric registration at Greek border crossing factors.”
Airport representatives and the European Fee convened a gathering on Tuesday to handle difficulties surrounding the system. Roughly 122 passengers had been left stranded and unable to board their flight from Milan Linate to Manchester on Sunday, following substantial hold-ups at passport management linked to the introduction of the EES.
The International, Commonwealth and Improvement Workplace has confirmed that your particulars would require re-registering each three years, and has warned that travellers could face longer ready instances when coming into or departing a rustic. It states: “The European Union’s (EU) Entry/Exit System (EES) began on 12 October 2025 It is a new digital border system that has modified necessities for British residents travelling to the Schengen space.
The nations within the Schengen space are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
The Republic of Eire and Cyprus will not be inside the Schengen space, and subsequently EES shouldn’t be relevant when travelling to both of those nations. In case you are travelling to a rustic within the Schengen space for a brief keep utilizing a UK passport, it’s possible you’ll be required to register your biometric particulars, similar to fingerprints and a photograph, while you arrive. You do not want to take any motion earlier than you arrive on the border, and there’s no value for EES registration.
EES registration is changing the present system of manually stamping passports when guests arrive within the EU. EES could take every passenger additional time to finish so be ready to attend longer than regular on the border.
“In your first go to to the Schengen space, it’s possible you’ll be requested to create a digital file on the port or airport on arrival. It’s possible you’ll be requested to submit your fingerprints and have your picture taken at devoted cubicles. You need not present any data earlier than travelling to a Schengen space nation. The checks could take barely longer than beforehand, so be ready to attend throughout busy instances.”
“For those who enter the Schengen space by means of the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel Le Shuttle at Folkestone or Eurostar, St Pancras Worldwide, any EES checks might be accomplished on the border, earlier than you permit the UK. You may additionally be requested to supply both your fingerprint or picture while you exit the Schengen space.”
“For those who incessantly journey to the Schengen space for work and/or leisure functions, it’s essential to be certain that your whole keep within the Schengen space is not more than 90 days in each 180 days. You have to concentrate on the penalty and enforcement strategy for exceeding the immigration restrict in any particular person Member State you intend to journey to, or by means of.”
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