British airports are expecting to handle a record number of passengers flying out of the UK for the Christmas holidays and the Foreign Office has issued a warning reminding Britons that since October 2025, the European Union has been rolling out the new Entry/Exit System (EES), which requires non-EU citizens, including Britons, to register their biometric data at the border, and this could lead to delays at peak times and therefore Britons should allow extra time at airports. Palma airport launched the system last month.
Writing on X, the FCDO Travel Advice wrote: “Travelling to Europe for the winter markets? The EU has introduced new border checks. Your fingerprints and photo may be taken at the EU border.” Despite this, it is understood that manual passport stamping will continue alongside EES registration across the Schengen area for the first six months of the scheme’s implementation and that extra staff will be on hand to help, just make sure you have all the correct documents and that passports meet the necessary criteria.
The Entry/Exit System (EES) is an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay, each time they cross the external borders of any of the following European countries using the system. For the purpose of the EES, ‘non-EU national’ means a traveller not holding the nationality of any European Union country or the nationality of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. ‘Short stay’ means up to 90 days within any 180-day period. This period is calculated as a single period for all the European countries using the EES.
Foreign Office has also warned Britons abroad to look after their passports. The Foreign Office has issued a £125 alert to all British passport holders. The update posted on X, formerly Twitter, addresses travellers from the UK who are already abroad. It reads: “Lost your passport abroad? If your passport is lost, stolen or damaged, you’ll need an Emergency Travel Document to get home.
“They cost £125 & can usually be collected after 2 working days.” A graphic accompanying the alert simply advises: “Keep your passport safe”. The FCO states: Travel urgently from abroad without your UK passport. An emergency travel document lets you travel from abroad if you need to travel urgently and cannot use your UK passport. It is usually only valid for one single or return journey.