I arrived in Greece Saturday night and it took 11 minutes from the time I started standing in line to when I was finished. Our flight arrived at 8:30 pm and our son and his wife who arrived at 10:15 pm had a similar experience.
I am sure there are fewer flights in the evening but still I was impressed.
It may depend on time of day you are there and how many other flights arrived at the same time or close to it.
When I flew to Lemnos late April I arrived at passport control at 8 in the morning and there were not many people in line.
By the time I waited then went to the agent who checked my passport and photo was taken and did my fingerprints was 15 minutes.
However, when I left Athens at 1 in the afternoon there was a long line and it took 50 minutes to go through it.
Tommy-I am sure you are right about time of day.
What do you have to do when you leave? I had thought that getting registered in the system was the big hurdle. But you say you waited 50 minutes?
I also thought once you have registered it would be a different way to leave but apparently it's not happening yet.
In addition everything I saw on line involved using the device to enter your info rather than waiting in line then wait until it's your turn to go through the passport process but the devices were not in use when I arrived/departed.
You check in first and they'll tell you what gate to go to and then you end up doing the same thing as you did upon arrival and hope there isn't a long line.
You may have to adjust the time you get to the airport especially if it's late morning and afterward.
I agree the time of day you arrive/depart could make a difference.
Thanks Tommy. I really wasn’t expecting that.
As it is an entry and exit system of course you have to go through formalities to leave. What did you expect?
Since this is a new way to enter/leave Greece it's unfamiliar with most tourists so there is some anxiety and confusion about how to do it.
Yes, we expect to go through passport control and what is involved with it but any time there is something new to deal with it causes some nervousness.
Greece have suspended the EES for British passport holders to protect their tourist industry. This should mean the queues for remaining non EU passport holders will be significantly reduced. The British are by far the largest number of non EU visitors to Greece with 4-5 million visits per year.
A bit more info here but the situation still seems very up and down.
I think the new EES system will be severely tested as the high season is getting underway.
It could take much longer once tourists start showing up in large numbers and could overwhelm the wait time to get processed.
If at all possible try to get a flight that arrives early morning and hope for the best.
I was lucky mid April upon arrival to only take 15 minutes to go through passport control including wait time in line.
I arrived yesterday/Thursday at 10:30am. Lines were huge. I got lucky and was cued to a new line. Total wait time was about 30 minutes.
