Member Barb H., one of the leaders of our Travel Trips and Aspirations CIG (Club Interest Group), suggested this long but extremely informative and calming article about the changes currently being implemented for entering European Schengen countries. The European Union recently implemented its Entry-Exit System (EES), a fully electronic way to check your passport when crossing borders. There have been reports of long lines and missed connections in some airports.
The author, Rick Steves, is a well-known and highly respected travel writer and tour operator. He draws on both the “facts” of what the new procedures mean and on his access to many folks on the ground who can provide anecdotal evidence of whether the reported long delays are real. (They happen, but not often and not everywhere.)
On a personal note, my husband and I just returned from a European trip. We arrived in Amsterdam on April 12. We were actually staying in Amsterdam (to see the tulips… wow!) and not connecting. The new EES machines weren’t yet working but staffing decisions must have been made based on having functioning machines. Two harried customs agents serviced all the incoming non-EU passengers. It took us 75 minutes to get through the line. I’m sure it’s better now. That was the very beginning of the implementation.
