Europe's new Entry/Exit System (EES) is causing severe chaos at airports across the continent as the summer holiday season gets underway. With border checks taking longer, there are even cases of airlines departing without being able to board all passengers.
On the 1st, Airports Council International Europe (ACI EUROPE), Airlines for Europe (A4E)—an alliance that includes Air France-KLM, Lufthansa and Ryanair—and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) sent a joint letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, asking for options to temporarily suspend EES checks during the summer holiday period.
They said, "The current implementation of the EES is causing serious operational problems that inconvenience passengers and impose an unmanageable burden on border authorities, airports and airlines," adding, "Immediate action is needed before the situation deteriorates further during the peak summer travel season."
Fully implemented in April this year, the EES is an electronic border control system for short-term non-EU visitors to Europe that collects passport data and biometric information such as facial images and fingerprints on first entry and rechecks them on exit, and it also applies to Korea. In the past, border officers checked passports and stamped them, but now travelers must go through a digital screening process to register with the EES.
The problem is that on-the-ground processing capacity is not keeping pace with the system. According to industry sources, since the EES was introduced, border checks have been delayed, with passengers often forced to wait for long periods outside terminal buildings or on the apron. The three organizations said peak-season border control wait times can reach up to 5 hours.
Border check delays are also affecting flight operations. In the letter, the industry groups said, "There have been cases where, even when the boarding gate closes, passengers remain stuck in border control lines, forcing flights to depart with less than half their seats filled." An ACI Spokesperson said some flights were delayed, while others had no choice but to take off leaving some passengers behind at the airport.
The three organizations warned that, with the number of travelers using European airports in July–Aug. expected to increase by about 40 million from the previous two months, if the European Commission does not allow airports to flexibly suspend EES checks, "an already very difficult situation for passengers will worsen further."
In fact, some countries and airports are partially easing EES application to reduce summer chaos. According to the Guardian in the U.K., Greece has suspended biometric checks for U.K. travelers through Sep., and French police also temporarily suspended additional border checks at the Port of Dover in May. Last week, the head of operations at Rome's airport said the application of the EES for non-EU citizens should be halted to avoid major turmoil over the summer.
The Financial Times (FT) in the U.K. said, "This letter delivered to President von der Leyen is the industry's strongest warning yet over the EES." After the letter was made public, a European Commission Spokesperson told the FT that a meeting with industry representatives would be held within days.