Ryanair Warns of Summer Queue Chaos at 16 EU Airports Due to EES

Ryanair has issued a strongly-worded statement warning that UK families heading to Europe this summer will face hours of extra queues at 16 airports due to ongoing failures of the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES). The budget airline, which released the statement on July 15, 2026, called for an emergency extension and flexibility in implementing the system, warning that without action, families will experience significant delays regardless of the airline they fly with.

EES Hotspots Named by Ryanair

The airline identified 16 airports where passengers are experiencing recurring delays due to slow processing times and excessive passport control queues on both arrivals and departures. The list includes popular family-friendly holiday destinations such as Lanzarote, Tenerife South, Alicante, and Malaga, as well as city break locations like Milan, Verona, Paris Beauvais, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt Hahn, Krakow, and Budapest. Other airports named are Lisbon, Madrid, and Milan Bergamo.

System Failures and Infrastructure Gaps

Ryanair's statement claimed that months after the EES went live, many airports still lack fully functioning self-service kiosks, while border staffing levels and infrastructure remain inadequate to process peak passenger volumes. The airline warned that the result is avoidable delays, longer queues, and unnecessary stress for UK passengers during the busiest holiday period of the year.

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Advice for Passengers

Ryanair advised UK passengers travelling to and from non-Schengen destinations, or transiting through affected European airports, to allow extra time for their journey and be prepared for extended waits at passport control. There, EES checks may require passport scanning, fingerprint capture, and facial image verification.

Chief Operations Officer's Statement

Neal McMahon, Ryanair's chief operations officer, said in a statement: “Families heading away for a well-earned summer holiday should be thinking about suitcases, suncream and sangria, not standing in passport queues for hours. The reality is that the EES system isn’t working properly and families are paying the price for a system that does not work months after launch. Passengers should not be the testing ground for unfinished border infrastructure.”

McMahon added: “We support calls from EU Member States to urgently extend the EES flexibilities. This will give airports and border authorities the time to improve the infrastructure, fix the broken devices and hire more staff so that families can travel through Europe without disruption.”