TORONTO — Talk about your on-again, off-again relationships.
Europe’s Entry/Exit System (EES), with its required fingerprints and facial scans, created havoc and a slew of negative headlines – due to hours-long lineups – for travellers at Europe’s airports earlier this summer. Airports got the green light to ‘pause’ EES processing during especially busy times in the summer tourism siege. But that ‘pause’ capability is expected to end as early as next month.
Meanwhile the EES’s partner system, the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), impacting a long list of Europe-bound travellers, including Canadians, was all set for launch for fall 2026 – and now it’s not. The official site notes the ETIAS is not currently in operation and no applications for travel authorizations are being collected at this point. No doubt the EES headaches were a big contributing factor.
With the ETIAS’ permit and fee requirements, no one who sells Europe travel is shedding tears about this ʻoff-again’ turn of events.
But what’s the advice for clients with travel booked to Europe for the remainder of the summer and into the popular fall season, especially when airports can no longer suspend EES processing, and the lineups and delays come back? What are the lessons learned?
Most importantly, did the early EES chaos deter Canadian travellers from visiting one of their favourite destinations this summer?
Not so you’d notice. There’s just no stopping Canada’s love of Europe – despite the long EES lines, the heatwaves, even worries about low jet fuel supplies (which thankfully so far haven’t come to pass).
EES EXASPERATION
“Canadian demand for Europe remains strong, and fall is especially busy for us,” says Talia May, Director, Marketing & Operations for Gateways International. “From our perspective, EES is affecting how clients fly and connect, rather than whether they travel. We are recommending longer connections and more caution especially with separate tickets.”
Europe travel for Exoticca is similarly booming, says Mike Quinto, VP, North America. Travellers have seen the headlines. “Theyʻre certainly aware of the EES rollout,” he says. “Because of the tariff war with the U.S. and the huge downturn of Canadian tourists booking U.S. holidays, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa have seen a huge uptick in sales in the last 12 months.”
Canadian arrivals to Europe in 2026 are forecast at just shy of 8 million, according to Sandra Bailey Moffatt, who is the chair of ETCʻs Canada chapter as well as Country Manager – Canada for Tourism Ireland. The official estimate is 7,986,639. “Almost all reporting destinations have seen more visits and/or nights spent by Canadians so far this year compared with the same period in 2025,” she tells Travelweek.
We asked Moffatt for her take on the EES rollout. She’s diplomatic. “We hope that the system is being thoroughly tested and used over the summer, while some derogations are still in place, and that it will be in full operation in the fall. We would of course like the traveller experience to be as seamless as possible. But safety matters too, both for European destinations and for their visitors.”
May says there has been exasperation with the EU’s rollout of EES, “and that frustration is shared across the industry. The potential for delays was widely anticipated, particularly during the busy summer and early fall period. We would have liked to see greater flexibility and stronger contingency planning to help airports manage severe congestion.”
Firdosh Bulsara, VP, MyEscapades, adds that there’s “a great amount of noise and greater number of warnings from ‘experts’, that the system requires immediate overhaul or it’ll be doomed. I have to believe the frustration is more compounded trying to have the client accept the fact that they have to go through with it … whether they like it or not.”
4-HOUR LAYOVERS
With the EES ‘pause’ capability potentially ending as the popular September travel season to Europe hits full swing, across the board the advice for clients is this: anticipate potential delays, and plan for them. “Travellers who know they may encounter longer processing times on arrival are much less likely to be frustrated. You will get through, just be patient,” says Quinto. “I’d also encourage advisors to recommend longer layover times. Sometimes there will be a 2-hour layover option, and a 3.5-hour layover option, and I know everyone just wants to get there, or get home, but always go with the safe bet and the longer layover time.”
May advises 3.5 hours, or even 4 hours. “The old 2-hour rule may not be enough,” she adds. Managing expectations is also important. And VIP airport services can be helpful for some travellers, “although they can be expensive and do not always guarantee faster immigration processing. At participating airports, travellers may also be able to submit some of their information in advance through the official Travel to Europe app.”
The app is a free pre-registration tool created by the EU for non-EU travellers subject to EES. Moffatt notes the app is already in use in Sweden and Portugal, with more countries planning to adopt it soon.
Once a traveller has gone through EES processing, their biometrics stay in the system for 3 years. We asked Moffatt if that means return visitors can anticipate faster processing times on their next visit. “Having biometrics on the system will naturally speed up the process, however EES is part of the overall passport check,” she said.
Travellers who have dual citizenship (i.e.a Canadian passport and an EU passport), with the required validity for their EU passport, can skip the EES process, notes Bulsara.
The official EU portal for all practical info on EES is https://travel-europe.
WORST-HIT AIRPORTS
Airports hit by the worst EES lineups and delays over the summer include gateways in Portugal (Lisbon), Italy (Milan and Verona) and Spain (Madrid, Alicante, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife South and Lanzarote) as well as Amsterdam Schiphol.
“Lisbon was already challenging before EES, and the additional processing appears to be compounding the problem,” says May. “We have also heard of difficulties at major hubs such as Paris and Frankfurt, particularly for passengers trying to make connecting flights. The biggest concern is the inconsistency. Some travellers pass through quickly, while others experience significant delays.”
This week the Canadian government reverted to its open-ended advice for the ETIAS for more than two dozen of its European country listings at Travel.gc.ca, noting that ETIAS applications are not yet open, and that travellers should apply only through the official EU website once the system is launched.
Given the lessons learned from EES, we asked Moffatt what advice she would offer to the authorities in charge of rolling out ETIAS – whenever that day comes. “What we can say from a tourism perspective is that clear, early and consistent communication towards travellers and the travel trade is what helps the industry prepare and manage expectations.”
This article appears in the Aug. 13, 2026 edition of Travelweek; click here.
