EES Launch Causes Airport Chaos in Europe

0:00It's April 25th, I'm Cory with the story, and this is Canada News Today, local news powered by AI. Europe's new entry exit system, or EES, just went fully live on April 10th across the Shangan area, hitting 29 countries plus spots like Norway and Iceland. It's swapping old school passport stamps for biometrics like face scans and fingerprints to track non-EU travelers better, including Canadians. The goal is smoother borders, but right now it's sparking huge backups at airports. Faced then since last October, the system logs entries and exits digitally at air, land, and seapoints. Officials say it's already registered 52 million crossings and blocked entry to over 27,000 people, 700 of them. Security risks. Still, roll out glitches are piling up, especially with peak traffic. Canadian travelers are venting about nightmare lines, naking through terminals. One family from Alberta barely made their pairs flight after hours and multiple cues, ditching tax refunds to sprint the last stretch.

1:05Others in Lisbon and Rome waited up to two hours just to hit the kiosks, with kids funneled into separate lines that barely helped. Kiosks keep failing power issues, not enough machines or passports that won't scan, sending folks to manual checks with slim staffing. What used to take 30 minutes now drags three hours combined for entry and exit. Families especially are hit hard, pushing everyone to rethink airport timing. Word from the front lines is clear, show up way earlier than before, and brace for a new normal in European travel. This tech upgrade aims high, but ironing out the kinks could take time before lines shorten up.