Non-EU travelers are facing severe border delays at Mediterranean airports due to the new Entry/Exit System. This friction is driving a surge in cruise bookings as a way to enter Spain, Italy, and France without facing airport congestion.
Rome Fiumicino's Tripled Wait Times
The implementation of the Entry/Exit System (EES)—an automated digital border tool for non-EU nationals—has created significant bottlenecks across 29 countries. According to the report, the system has been fully operational since April, following an initial rollout in October of the previous year. The transition to digital tracking has not been seamless, particularly at high-traffic hubs.
The scale of the disruption is evident at Rome Fiumicino Airport. Ivan Bassato, the airport's chief aviaion officer, told BBC News that waiting times have tripled , with processing for UK nationals now taking up to 20 minutes, a sharp increase from the previous average of seven minutes. Similar delays have been flagged at Milan Malpensa Airport, which travel expert Simon Calder identified as one of the most problematic hubs for EES processing.
Málaga and Alicante's 'Breaking Point' Crisis
In Spain, the pressure on border infrastructure has reachd a critical level. Police unions have described the situation at Málaga and Alicante airports as being at a "breaking point," a crisis exacerbated by ongoing staff shortages. The report says the chaos has already had tangible consequences for travelers, including a British holidaymaker who missed a flight with her daughter at Málaga Airport.
This situation reflects a broader, recurring tension in international travel: the gap between the rollout of high-tech security mandates and the physical capacity of the workforce to manage them. When digital systems fail or slow down, the lack of human redundancy transforms a technical glitch into a systemic failure, leaving thousands of passengers stranded in terminals.
The £414 Alternative to Charles de Gaulle
To avoid the congestion at Paris airports like Charles de Gaulle and Beauvais, travelers are increasingly looking toward the sea. Royal Caribbean offers a three-day Paris Getaway departing from Southampton on September 17, 2027, starting at £414 per person. By docking at Le Havre, passengers can reach the French capital in roughly two hours by car, entirely bypassing the airport border queues.
Other cruise lines are seeing similar opportunities to capture the "anti-airport" market. P&O Cruises provides a 14-night voyage to Spain and France in August 2027, with stops in Málaga and Alicante starting at £1,579 per person. For those targeting Italy, Princess Cruises operates a Seven-Day Western Mediterranean voyage departing Barcelona on August 15, 2027, from £849 per person, which includes a stop in Genoa. Even more expansive options exist, such as Fred Olsen's 18-night Discovering Italy With The Amalfi Coast voyage departing September 28, 2026, priced from £3,499 per person.
Who is Solving the EES Staffing Shortage?
While the report highlights the distress of passengers and the warnings from police unions,several critical questions remain unanswered. Specifically, there is no mention of how the European Union or the 29 participating nations intend to address the staffing shortages that have pushed Spanish airports to their limits. It remains unclear whether the delays are caused by software inefficiencies within the Entry/Exit System (EES) or simply a lack of personnel to manage the digital kiosks.
Furthermore, the source focuses primarily on the experiences of UK nationals and the perspectives of airport officials and cruise lines. There is a notable absence of official commentary from the Schengen Area's governing bodies regarding a timeline for stabilizing the border process before the peak summer travel season.
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