The European Union (EU) has started a new digital entry system for travelers from non-EU countries. Instead of stamping paper passports, border officers now use face scans and fingerprints. This new system is called the Entry/Exit System, or EES.
When travelers arrive at an airport in the EU, they must first scan their passports at a special machine called a kiosk (自助服务终端). Then they talk to a border officer. The whole process takes about thirty extra seconds for each person. That may not sound like much, but thousands of people travel every day. So very long lines are forming at major European airports. Some travelers have to wait up to five hours. Some even miss their flights.
The situation is difficult for a few reasons. First, different countries use different software (软件), so the system does not work the same way everywhere. Second, travelers cannot prepare online before they arrive at the airport. They have to do everything at the border. Greece is currently allowed to keep the old passport checks because of special problems. Airport leaders are asking the EU to pause the new system during the busy summer season. They worry that long lines will ruin many people's holidays.
Many travelers are unhappy. They say the new system is slow and confusing. But the EU says the system will make Europe safer. It will help stop people from staying longer than they are allowed. The EU hopes the problems will be fixed soon, but for now, travelers need to arrive at the airport much earlier than before.