The start date for the European Entry/Exit System (EES) has been pushed back again after the EU admitted systems were not ready. The EES will apply to all UK citizens entering the EU.

The travel industry had forecast lengthy queues at EU airports and the UK Eurostar terminal and Dover ferry port, where biometric registration will take place. However, the start of checks has been delayed after several countries said they did not have the technology in place.

EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson said it would now be phased in.

“It’s clear that we’re not going to be ready for the 10 November,” Johansson told the BBC, adding: “We will be going for a phased approach, step by step.”

EES was meant to be introduced in 2022. It was rescheduled for May 2023 and then late 2023, before the latest deadline was set.

The latest delay means many travellers will now undergo EES registration when they depart for their summer 2025 break.

This will be in tandem with the need to register for the EU’s Etias visa waiver scheme, which the EU says will be introduced “in the first half of 2025”.