EU rejects suspending biometric border controls despite 20 ‘difficult spots’

Under the EES system, non-EU passengers have to register fingerprints and facial images the first time they enter the Schengen zone. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

The EU has rejected calls by airports and airlines to suspend the implementation of new fingerprinting and facial recognition border controls even though it admits there are “20 difficult spots” with queue chaos.

With only a week to go before the peak summer holiday season starts, EU officials said the new entry/exit system (EES) was “not perfect” but it would tell travel industry representatives that a full suspension was “not needed” and “not possible”.