EES Delayed in 9 Countries: What Changes + Europe's Strike Week Ahead
Guardian/Times Sept 14: nine EU states incl. France delay full EES biometrics. What changes for your trip, Ryanair 16 airports, insurance truth.
Key takeaways
- Nine EU countries incl. France, Greece, Italy, Portugal delay full EES fingerprinting (Guardian, Sept 14) — queues ease, rules don't vanish.
- Insurance still won't cover EES-queue missed flights (ABI); airlines owe nothing for border delays.
- Week ahead: easyJet France pilots Sept 24-25 (compensation due), SNCF/public strike Sept 29 (impact TBD).
A week ago full EES enforcement resumed — and immediately bent. Nine EU countries, France and Greece first among them, are now delaying full fingerprinting at busy airports (Guardian, September 14. Times). This is the update to our missed-flight guide: what the pause changes, what it doesn’t. And the strike week stacking up behind it.
From the desk — Elena Marsh: Delay reporting via Guardian (Sept 14) and Times. Airline positions via IATA/ABTA/Ryanair; strike dates via Connexion France (SNPL, CGT). Companion: Travel to Europe app guide.
The 9-country pause, explained
Full enforcement was supposed to bite from September 6, when the summer flexibility expired. Instead the Commission let nine states — including France, Greece, Italy and Portugal. Shelve biometric collection where kiosks and staffing can’t cope. Palma cut average waits to ~30 minutes by raising border police headcount ~52%. Rome Fiumicino had reported UK times tripling from 7 to 20 minutes. Ryanair lists 16 hotspot airports (Tenerife South, Palma, Alicante, Málaga, Bergamo, Kraków, Beauvais, Lisbon, Madrid, Lanzarote, Malpensa, Verona, Berlin, Cologne, Hahn, Budapest).
What changes for you: shorter queues at the named hotspots, fewer missed connections this week. What doesn’t: registration continues, the system is live since April 10, 2026. And any airport can re-tighten without notice. IATA wants flexibilities extended into early 2027. The Commission calls the summer “broadly” successful. Read that as: travel early-September calm, not guaranteed calm.
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Money truth: still nobody pays
The pause changes queues, not liability. The Association of British Insurers line stands: travel insurance is unlikely to cover EES-queue losses. Getting through on time is deemed your responsibility. Airlines owe nothing for border delays under Regulation 261/2004 (see our evidence-pack guide). So the pause is good news you cannot bank: keep the timestamps, the queue photos, the 24-48h claim window. The full method in yesterday’s guide.
The strike week ahead
easyJet France pilots, September 24-25. The SNPL postponed the September 13-14 walkout to next Thursday-Friday for talks. No firm commitments yet on schedules. Difference that matters: airline-staff strikes are not extraordinary circumstances. So delays and cancellations bring compensation plus rebooking. If you fly easyJet from Orly, CDG, Lyon, Nice, Nantes or Bordeaux those days, screenshot everything and claim.
SNCF + public services, September 29. Seven unions (CGT, FO, CFDT, UNSA, FSU, Solidaires, CFE-CGC) call public-sector workers out. SUD-Rail calls rail staff. SNCF posted €1.2bn half-year profit against a 0.18% rail pay rise — expect real participation, unknown routes. Check traffic the evening of the 28th. Have a FlixBus-grade plan B for the 29th. Schools and nurseries may close too.
Plus: Eurail is now Interrail (since Sept 9). Same passes; Italy reports West Nile spread this September. Check official health advice before Po Valley wetlands trips. The week rewards the traveller who reads Sunday night and packs Monday morning.
The 16 airports, honestly ranked
Ryanair’s hotspot list is the closest thing to a live EES leaderboard. Worst tier — plan an extra 90 minutes and a flexible connection: Tenerife South, Palma, Málaga, Milan Bergamo, Paris Beauvais, Athens. Mid tier — 30-60 minutes, manageable with early arrival: Alicante, Lisbon, Madrid, Lanzarote, Malpensa, Verona, Berlin, Cologne, Hahn, Budapest. Palma improved to ~30 minutes average after the staffing surge. But peaks still hit 70. Fiumicino tripled UK times from 7 to 20 minutes in July and hasn’t fully recovered.
Use the list backwards: if your airport isn’t on it, standard advice (2h short-haul, 3h long-haul) holds. If it is, add an hour and never book the last connection of the day. The rebooking desk closes with the terminal. And remember the pause is geographic, not personal: flying into Beauvais gets the delay treatment, flying into nearby Lille may not. Route choice is now a border strategy.
Insurance wording that actually pays
“Missed departure” riders are the only policies worth the premium this autumn. But the wording decides everything. Look for explicit “border control / immigration delay” in the covered events (not just “public transport delay”), a waiting threshold of 4-6 hours you can actually evidence. And maximums of €150-300 that cover a rebooked low-cost leg. Reject anything requiring the airline’s written fault admission. Carriers don’t issue those for border queues.
Buy before the story, not during: policies buy after delays hit the news routinely exclude “known events”. Annual multi-trip cover bought in spring beats a panicked single-trip policy bought at the gate. And photograph the policy certificate to your phone. The claims portal will ask for the exact clause number while you’re standing in the rebooking line. Screenshot the schedule board showing your delay too: adjudicators trust airport screens over memory.
One more lever most travellers miss: premium bank cards. Several 2026 metal-tier cards bundle missed-departure cover with the same €150-300 shape as standalone riders. Check the card benefits PDF before buying duplicate insurance. The coverage triggers identically (documented border delay, threshold hours met). And claims run through the card issuer. This is often faster than a travel insurer’s queue.
Sunday-night checklist for the strike week
- Flights Thu-Fri: check easyJet app Wednesday evening. Screenshot your booking, the schedule. And any delay notice.
- Trains Sept 29: check SNCF traffic Monday 28th evening. Save a FlixBus/Blablabus alternative for key legs.
- Borders: verify your airport against the 16-list. Pre-register in the Travel to Europe app if Sweden/Portugal-bound.
- Health: Po Valley or Camargue wetlands? Read the official West Nile advice first.
- Passes: Eurail confirmations still valid — new bookings say Interrail, same rights. Screenshot the pass QR too. Inspectors accept screens when signal dies in long tunnels.
