EU airport chaos bypasses Sweden thanks to app

Chaos has erupted at European airports due to new EU regulations for border checks on non-EU citizens. Travelers face hours-long queues and flights departing with fewer passengers as a result of the new system, which requires photographs and fingerprints upon arrival.

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We really don't want to end up in the same category as other member states that have these big queue problems. We are not one of them.

However, Sweden has managed to navigate these changes smoothly. Louise Wahlberg of the Swedish police stated that the implementation of the new EU system and technology has been seamless. "We really don't want to end up in the same category as other member states that have these big queue problems. We are not one of them," she said.

Sweden was among the first countries to utilize a new EU app, "Travel to Europe," which simplifies the registration process. Instead of relying on self-scanning kiosks, travelers in Sweden can complete their registration at home via the app. They upload information from their travel documents and take a facial photo, which is then sent to airports like Arlanda. Upon arrival, a scan of their travel document at a manual counter integrates the pre-registered data into the system.

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In Sweden, we don't use self-scanning machines; people do it at home on the couch through the app.

Wahlberg, who has been a project manager for the implementation and serves on an EU Commission committee, noted that using the app saves between 20 to 25 seconds per traveler. She attributed Sweden's success to its early adoption of the app and its decision to forgo kiosks, focusing solely on the digital registration method. Additionally, Swedish airports handle fewer travelers compared to major European hubs, contributing to the absence of significant queues.

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By using the app, we have saved 20 to 25 seconds per traveler.