Travel industry leaders have urged the European Commission to allow border authorities to stand down the new entry-exit system (EES) if necessary, amid growing concerns about long queues at European airports this summer. The biometric controls, which require most British holidaymakers to be fingerprinted, photographed and registered, have been introduced across 29 nations.
Airports Council International (ACI) Europe has warned that the system could lead to a “disastrous” passenger experience, with delays of up to three hours already reported at airports in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy. Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, said queues of up to two hours were routine even with only 35% of travellers registered, and that the situation could worsen significantly during peak summer months.
“We’re especially concerned for July and August, when we have double the traffic. We could see queues of up to five hours, and that is making us very nervous: it creates a disastrous passenger experience and a safety hazard, as well as possible missed connecting flights,” he said. Jankovec described chronic understaffing of border guards as a pre-existing issue made worse by the EES rollout.
The UK travel association Abta has written to EU migration commissioner Magnus Brunner, urging him to ensure border authorities use contingency measures to avoid lengthy delays. Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said it was frustrating that border authorities had the power to ease queues but that this was not happening consistently across the board.
In Lisbon, queues reached seven hours just before the new year, prompting Portuguese authorities to suspend the system. Many self-service kiosks have proved unreliable, and only Sweden has allowed an app for pre-registration. Jankovec called for a coordinated European approach, saying a “Band-Aid” for the summer would not suffice.
In the UK, Eurotunnel said it had begun the phased rollout of EES for coach passengers and lorry drivers smoothly and was “fully prepared”, but had not yet started registering tourist vehicles. Eurostar has installed new kiosks at London St Pancras but has not switched them on, with checks still done manually by border officers while awaiting a date from the French interior ministry. A European Commission spokesperson said contingency measures would remain available for at least 90 days from the April deadline, hinting at a possible extension to cover the summer.
