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If you’ve been putting off your European getaway because of talk about a new EU travel permit, here’s some welcome news: ETIAS — the €20 authorisation Britons will eventually need to visit Europe — has effectively been shelved until 2027.

This week, the European Union quietly changed the wording on its official ETIAS website. The old message promised the system would “become operational in the final quarter of 2026”. The new version simply says ETIAS is “not yet operational” and that no applications are being accepted — with a launch date to be announced “several months in advance”. In plain English: it’s not happening this year.

That matches what the Financial Times reported earlier in July — that eu-LISA, the EU agency building the system, has privately admitted a 2026 launch is no longer feasible, with insiders describing the original timetable as “illusory”. Travel expert Simon Calder, who has been tracking these changes closely for The Independent, has long warned British travellers to expect exactly this kind of slippage.

So what is ETIAS, and why the delay?

ETIAS (the European Travel Information and Authorisation System) is a pre-travel permit — a bit like the American ESTA — that visa-free travellers, including UK passport holders, will need before visiting 30 European countries. When it does arrive, it will cost €20 per person (nearly triple the originally announced €7 fee), though children under 18, adults over 70 and some family members of EU citizens will be exempt.

The delay comes down to one thing: the EU’s other new border system, the Entry/Exit System (EES), has had a rocky rollout. Since going fully live in April 2026, the biometric passport checks — fingerprints and facial scans replacing the old passport stamp — have caused long queues at some of Europe’s busiest airports and crossings. Airlines and airport bodies wrote to Brussels in July warning the situation had reached a “critical point”, and the feeling inside the EU seems to be: fix EES first before bolting another system on top of it.

One important note — EES is here to stay. The EU has ruled out pausing it, so those biometric checks will still be part of your journey this summer, even though ETIAS won’t.

Watch out: over 100 fake ETIAS websites

Here’s the part every traveller in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire should know before booking that last-minute summer break. Frontex, the EU’s border agency, has identified more than 100 unofficial websites offering ETIAS “information” — and some claim to already accept applications.

They can’t. The system isn’t live, and no legitimate site can take your money or your details for an ETIAS permit right now. When ETIAS does eventually launch, the only official place to apply will be the EU’s own website at europa.eu/etias. If a site asks you to pay for an ETIAS today, close the tab.

What this means for your summer holiday

The practical picture for anyone flying out of Luton, Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted or Birmingham this summer:

• No ETIAS needed — don’t apply, don’t pay anyone, ignore any site claiming otherwise.
• EES biometric checks continue at European airports and borders, so allow extra time when returning home from busy hubs, especially during peak weeks.
• Your passport rules haven’t changed — you still need at least 3 months’ validity beyond your departure date from the EU, and your passport must be under 10 years old on the day you enter.
• The 90-in-180-day rule still applies for stays in the Schengen area.

Start your journey the stress-free way

Whatever’s happening at the European end, you can at least take the guesswork out of the British end. With over 25 years of experience and a fleet of more than 200 vehicles, Travel Skyline gets travellers from Hemel Hempstead and right across Herts, Beds and Bucks to every major UK airport — on time, every time.

With EES queues making European airports less predictable, the last thing you need is a stressful trip to the terminal too. Book your airport transfer with Travel Skyline and start (and end) your holiday the relaxed way.

Call us on 01442 241 111 or book online today.

We keep a close eye on the travel rules that affect our passengers — check back on our news page for the latest updates on ETIAS, EES and everything in between.