One BIG Airport Rule Change You Need to Know About If Traveling To Europe

Do you plan on flying to Europe soon? Perhaps you’re going to make your way over to Disneyland Paris to check out the parks there.

Maybe you’re planning on taking a European Disney Cruise. Maybe you’re just wanting to see some of the real places that have inspired Walt Disney and animators throughout the years. Whatever the case, the rules for Americans traveling to Europe will be changing soon.

In October, the new Entry/Exit System (EES) at European airports will go into effect. This is an automated system that will register people traveling from non-European Union countries for short stays as they cross external borders to any European country.

This is how it will work. When you enter a European country, you’ll have to provide your personal data, and passport control officers will scan your fingerprints or take a photo of your face. This information will be recorded in a digital file. Passports will no longer be stamped.

You may speed up the process if there’s a self-service station to do this at the border crossing point/airport or if a country makes the service available via a mobile app. You will still, however, have to meet with a passport control officer.

If you have already crossed the border of a European country using EES more than once, your fingerprints and photo will already be recorded, so a passport control officer will verify your data, which will take less time. Those with biometric passports will be able to use a self-service system and not need to meet with a passport control officer.

Granted, you’ll want to be aware of this change because it’s likely that this new system will slow down things at the airport and other border crossing areas. You’ll want to bring some patience, too, because as this system rolls out in October, it’s probably going to be a slow process until it’s all figured out.

Note that Americans will also have to pay an entry fee to travel to a European country. Those are currently €20. In USD, that’s about $8 to $23.

Check back with AllEars again soon for more.