When the EU Entry/Exit System takes effect, British passport holders will for the first time need to provide biometric data at European borders. This article, written in late 2023, previews what the new checks will require and what the processing challenges could look like at key UK departure points.
Five years after the UK left the EU, mobility remains possible but less frictionless. New border routines, document checks, and incoming digital authorisation systems are reshaping how people move between Britain and Europe.
IATA has publicly opposed the UK's plan to raise the ETA fee by 60% only days after the system's wider introduction. The group says the move clashes with tourism growth goals and adds another cost on top of existing air travel taxes.
ABTA's updated consumer guidance recasts Europe travel as a preparation issue rather than a last-minute border surprise. Its message is that travellers should understand the phased EES rollout now, while remembering that ETIAS is not yet open for applications.
ABTA's passports-and-visas page is broad rather than event-led. It works best as an early travel checklist, covering passport validity, visa checks, renewal timing and a separate warning for some British and Irish dual nationals returning to the UK.
ABTA's opening assessment for 2026 argues that travel businesses are entering the year with a crowded policy and operational agenda. Its five-priority list ranges from border systems and pricing rules to artificial intelligence, youth mobility and accessibility.
ABTA presented EES and ETIAS as changes that travel businesses needed to explain well before implementation. Its guidance model combined a member hub, a consumer advice page and regular updates as more official detail became available.
ABTA's Brexit guidance treats travel to the EU as manageable, but more procedural than before. The page pulls together the core checks that now matter most, from passport validity and 90-day limits to insurance, border controls and trip-specific paperwork.
Brexit did not end travel between the UK and Europe, but it made it more restrictive, more administrative and often more expensive. British travellers now face tighter passport rules, stay limits, added border friction and fewer of the practical conveniences they once took for granted.
UK travellers visiting Europe should prepare for a new border process from October 2025. The EU's Entry/Exit System will gradually reshape checks at airports, ports and land crossings across the Schengen area.