International airport organisations have warned that passengers travelling to Europe this summer could be forced to wait in queues for four hours or more.
ACI Europe, A4E, and IATA have issued a joint statement warning of severe delays at border crossings in Europe thanks to the new Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES).
The organisations sent a letter to the European Commission calling for the system to be immediately reviewed as it is causing persistently excessive waiting times at airport border control, and this is only expected to get worse during the busy summer months.
The introduction of the EES means that UK travellers entering the Schengen area are required to have their fingerprints taken at the EU border.
This registration process happens at the EU border upon arrival, and also requires that a photograph is taken of the passenger. The registration then remains valid for three years.
The EES rollout is progressive, currently requiring that 35% of all third-country nationals entering the Schengen zone must be registered.
Even at this stage of the rollout, however, airports and airlines said customers are waiting up to 2 hours at airport border control.
The organisations said that unless immediate action is taken, the introduction of mandatory EES registrations at all border crossings will result in waiting times of four hours or more during the peak summer months in July and August.
They said that EES delays are compounded by understaffing at border control, unresolved technical issues, and the limited uptake of pre-registration by Schengen states.
To address this looming chaos at airport border control, the organisations urged the European Commission to allow countries to suspend the EES rollout until the end of October 2026.
“There is a complete disconnect between the perception of the EU institutions that EES is working well, and the reality, which is that non‑EU travellers are experiencing massive delays and inconvenience,” said the airline and airport organisations.
“This must come to an end immediately. We need to be realistic about what will happen during the peak summer months, when traffic at Europe’s airports doubles.”
“The rollout of EES must be flexible to react to operational realities. This is an absolute prerequisite for its success – and for safeguarding the reputation of the EU as an efficient, welcoming and desirable destination,” they said.
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