In 2026, travelling abroad is set to become more complicated, more expensive and significantly more bureaucratic – and that came through clearly in readers’ questions during my latest Ask Me Anything live Q&A.
Much of the discussion focused on the EU’s Entry/Exit System, which is still being rolled out unevenly across Europe.
Readers wanted to know about fingerprinting, facial scans, malfunctioning e-gates and whether their time in the Schengen area was being logged correctly. My advice was simple: expect inconsistency, delays and confusion, especially at busy airports, and plan accordingly.
Beyond Europe, there was unease about travelling to the US, where border checks remain unpredictable and proposals to examine social media activity for Esta applications are causing concern.
At the same time, costs are rising everywhere, with new tourist taxes, surcharges and attraction fees adding to the bill.
Whatever trip you’re planning this year, travel still offers huge rewards, but it will require more patience, preparation – and money – than ever before.
Here’s some of your questions – and my answers from the Q&A:
Q: How will biometrics work under the EU Entry/Exit System?
Anonymous
A: As this rivetingly interesting article explains, British travellers to and from the Schengen area will go through a biometric check. On first encounter with the EES, they must provide four of their fingerprints (not required of children under 12) and a facial biometric.
Once you have registered, on subsequent encounters with the entry-exit system you will need only one biometric taken; this is almost certain to be the face, since it is a lot less hassle than fingerprinting.
Between now and the completion of the roll-out in April, be prepared to provide biometrics and expect longer border queues as a result of “double red tape” – providing biometrics but having your passport stamped as well.
Q: What if e-gates or biometrics don’t work?
BBenB
A: Don’t be anxious! I had problems providing legible fingerprints a week ago at Alicante, but the staff were extremely helpful.
Along with another arrival, we were sent to see an analogue officer, who did the usual passport scrutiny and stamping stuff.
Q: Are some EU airports better prepared for EES than others?
SammyW
A: I wouldn’t plan a break based on the border experience, unless it was to somewhere extreme (eg the US). Prague was the first major airport to adopt the entry-exit system, but is still having problems; Alicante is up and running, with helpful staff to help you through.
But as EES is not mandatory from the member states’ point of view, it’s all a bit of a lottery at the moment.
Q: If one partner is an EU passport holder and the other is not, does it matter if an Entry/Exit System scan appears to have been logged incorrectly?
Holidaytime
A: The 90-day rule does not apply when you are travelling together, so bureaucratic slip-ups should be merely irksome.
I haven’t heard from other one EU/one non-EU couples of particularly serious problems.
Q: After registering my biometric data with the EES, will I be able to go through e-gates on subsequent visits to EU countries?
Anonymous
A: At this point, let me introduce Dr Nick Brown – the data sleuth who spends even more time studying the entry-exit system than I do. He explains: “EES and e-gates are not the same issue. There is some kind of myth in the UK that ‘Since Brexit you haven't been able to use the e-gates in the EU any more’. This was never true, and when the UK government made a triumphant announcement in May 2025 that ‘thanks to us you will soon be able to go on holiday quicker with e-gates’ it revealed a shocking lack of understanding by ministers and, presumably, the civil servants advising them.
“Some EU airports did stop using e-gates for Brits after Brexit. But many didn't. Palma (where I live) was one that didn't. They just split their e-gates into two sections, and if you went through the ones for non-EU citizens, a roped-off path led you to a desk where you got a stamp in your passport.
“Once EES is fully operational, that desk will be gone and everyone will use the same e-gates, which will only allow non-EU citizens through if they have registered at the EES kiosk.
“Note also that you have to go to the EES kiosk (assuming there is one, otherwise to the officer) every time you visit the EU. The process will be quicker after the first visit, but they still want to check that your passport matches you, and that you have not been added to any Schengen watchlists since your last visit.
“So the answer is, it depends - and always has depended - on the individual airport.”
Q: How can families minimise delays entering the US?
Zasha
A: I like pre-screening as happens at Dublin airport. The US Customs and Border Protection officers are friendly (probably due to living in Ireland) and once cleared you can fly the Atlantic as a domestic passenger – no hanging around on arrival.
Smaller gateways such as Salt Lake City or Anchorage are always easier in my experience. Road crossings from Canada, too.
Q: When will the 100ml liquids rule finally end?
Anonymous
A: Modern scanners use computed tomography (CT) – the same technology as medical scanners – to analyse the molecular structure of the contents of a passenger’s bag. The machines can detect potential threats and present security officers with a three-dimensional image of the contents.
They can also analyse whether laptops and other electronic equipment present a danger, and do the same with liquids in any quantity.
That, at least, is the theory. But both the UK and European Union are having problems meeting the understandably high standards for aviation security. False positives are annoying; false negatives are alarming. Until everyone is on the same hi-tech page, it will continue to be erratic.
Q: Who wins and loses from tighter border controls?
SammyW
A: The UK is by a mile the biggest loser with its absurd ban on European Union citizens travelling to the UK using an identity card. Sure, 20 years ago there were serious concerns about the security of these documents. But now ID cards are as sophisticated as passports in terms of security. It would be an easy win to reinstate the option for 300 million European citizens who have identity cards but not passports.
Meanwhile, the biggest winners are all the countries such as Ireland which have not put up huge barriers to a vast tourism market.
Q: Will Ebbsfleet ever reopen for international trains?
Blaggard
A: When High Speed One, the rail link from London St Pancras International to the Channel Tunnel, cut through the middle of Kent, part of the payback was two stations with direct trains to Continental Europe. Services from St Pancras would stop at Ebbsfleet in the northeast of the county and Ashford International in the southeast en route to Paris and Brussels.
Until 2020 a certain proportion of Eurostar trains stopped at one or the other station. It was an expensive operation: passengers needed to be screened by French Police aux Frontieres officers and security staff before boarding. Once Covid struck, Ebbsfleet and Ashford International were promptly shut down. During the pandemic, Eurostar lost a fortune running near-empty trains between St Pancras and the Continental capitals – even without the extra running costs of the Kent stations.
Brexit took effect at the start of 2021. The UK’s insistence on British passport holders being treated as “third-country nationals” sharply increased the workload of French border staff and the space required for processing. With the EU entry-exit system (EES) requiring even more resources, Eurostar has no appetite for reopening the stations. The firm is now harvesting impressive profits from its monopoly position in a large, lucrative market.
Virgin Trains has been given the go-ahead to run trains in competition with Eurostar from about 2030. Sir Richard Branson’s company is interested in reviving the Kent market. But the price must be right, which could include the government or local authority stumping up millions for the necessary infrastructure reconfiguration. I can see this happening only at one station initially: Ashford International. It has a wide potential catchment across the county and into Sussex and even Essex, once the Lower Thames Crossing is completed.
Reducing border friction with the EU Europe would improve the economics of stopping in Kent. But the county’s people voted robustly 59:41 in favour of the sunlit uplands of Brexit. I think Kent’s Europe-bound passengers will be waiting a while yet.
Q: Is Naples worth visiting in 2026 – and are there any downsides
Anonymous
A: Bad? Nothing.
Good: in a very crowded field of great Italian cities, Naples is my favourite: for the contrast of grandeur and grit, the cuisine, the culture and a spectacular setting. March is an excellent month: warmer, but not too crowded.
The National Archaeological Museum of Naples is one of two essential sites: it reveals the roots of the region and the tragic consequences of its seismic location. The other is the Cappella Sansevero, the Baroque chapel that houses Giuseppe Sanmartino’s miraculously sculpted Cristo Velato – the veiled corpse of Christ after He was taken down from the cross, conveyed in eerie detail in stone.
If time allows, make your way around the Bay of Naples, using the Circumvesuviana railway. I rate the ancient ruined port city of Herculaneum and Oplontis – location for two ornate villas – as a match for the more celebrated Pompeii.
Try to stay for at least one night in Sorrento, where the railway ends. The resort has a gorgeous setting, mainly on cliffs overlooking the bay, though with a route down to the Mediterranean – from where you can get a ferry back across the bay to Naples and your flight home.
Q: Which destinations are staying affordable for tourists?
SammyW
A: All tourist locations aim to stay competitive and attractive to overseas visitors. For a real economy trip, I recommend Poland, Serbia, Albania and Morocco.
Q: Where should we go for a long post-retirement trip in 2026?
Anonymous
A: Take yourselves off to the Canary Islands. Access is cheap and easy, with loads of flights from the UK taking typically four hours and plenty of competition keeping fares and holiday prices keen. These Spanish Atlantic islands, only about 350 miles, north of the tropics, will be warm and sunny even in February. Expect an average of six hours of sunshine, with average highs of only 21C – ideal for some outstanding hiking. Tenerife, and neighbouring La Gomera, have some of the finest one-day hikes in Spain, and you can easily fill a couple of weeks.
As Continental Europe warms up, and just as the half-term family crowds arrive, hop across to the mainland – specifically Cadiz (take a direct flight to Jerez) or Valencia. Both are outstanding and under-appreciated coastal cities. From Valencia, two hours and £30 is enough to get you to Palermo in Sicily. Explore the city (and, force yourself, its outstanding cathedral) and then meander across the north of the island, with a few days to explore the captivating Aeolian islands – volcanic outcrops with individual charm.
Then a ferry to the southern tip of mainland Italy, a circuit around Reggio Calabria and a second ferry from Otranto across to Corfu . A third will take you across the strait to southern Albania. (This will also help you with the 90/180-day rule, in case you are in danger of transgressing the maximum stay in the Schengen area.) Make your way through North Macedonia and Serbia to Croatia, and finally end up in Slovenia in April, which will be a peak adventure location by then: canyoning, kayaking, cycling. I’m tempted to join you.
Q: Our transatlantic business class flight was ruined by a crying baby. Can we claim compensation?
Anonymous
A: L'enfer, c'est les autres, wrote Jean-Paul Sartre: “Hell is other people.” The French philosopher and writer was not specifically referring to overnight flights. But spending long hours in an aircraft cabin while a noisy fellow passenger (of any age) renders sleep impossible could infuriate the most serene traveller. It is bad enough in economy; I was among dozens of passengers who were kept awake aboard an all-night flight from Bogota in Colombia to Heathrow airport due to an infant achieving extraordinary decibel levels. It must be doubly annoying when you have paid a small fortune to fly in business class.
Unfortunately, I can see no grounds for any kind of claim for compensation. Airlines typically make bold assertions about premium cabins, but most make no guarantees about who your fellow passengers might be. Just as people can't choose their families, airlines can't choose their passengers. A few Asian airlines offer child-free zones, but I know of none across the Atlantic.
Were you to have been promised a lie-flat bed and top-grade inflight entertainment, but then ended up with neither due to a last-minute aircraft replacement, you could make a claim against the airline. But in your circumstances, the best I can suggest is writing a polite note explaining your less-than-ideal experience. That may be enough to earn you a few thousand frequent flyer points to make amends. Together with the points you presumably earned on the business class flight, you might have enough for a future upgrade …
These questions and answers were part of an ‘Ask Me Anything’ hosted by Simon Calder at 1pm GMT on Friday 9 January. Some of the questions and answers have been edited for this article. You can read the full discussion in the original article.
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