The head of Europe’s airports lobby says concerns over the region’s new digital border control system are keeping him and other industry bosses awake at night. Stefan Schulte, president of ACI Europe, told an industry event in Prague that politicians should “stop pretending… that EES is working just fine. It is not.”
Schulte, who also runs the company that owns Frankfurt Airport, warned that passengers are “queueing for hours at peak traffic times” and admitted: “I just do not know how we will be able to cope in the coming weeks with the expected increase in traffic.”
“Airports chief warns EU's EES border system is not working, causing hours-long queues and missed flights.”
Earlier this year, the EU completed the rollout of its Entry-Exit System (EES), which requires travellers from outside the EU to register biometric information – including facial scans and fingerprints – when entering most European countries. Those details are then checked when they leave.
Although some countries have reported smooth operation, EES has been blamed for severe delays at several airports, with passengers missing flights. Earlier this month, dozens of Ryanair passengers were left stranded in Athens after their flight to London Luton left without them. Ryanair blamed border delays; the airport cited congestion linked to “additional processing requirements”, though neither directly confirmed EES was responsible.
That incident followed others in April, when some passengers flying from Milan Bergamo and Milan Linate to Manchester also missed their flights due to problems at passport control.
Wizz Air has previously urged British holidaymakers to arrive at European airports three hours before their flight home departs because of lengthy queues caused by the new checks.
Schulte called for urgent change. “We urgently need full flexibility for border control authorities to suspend the EES whenever needed to avoid further chaos – along with a rethink of those processes,” he said. “This is about showing respect and decency for those who chose to travel to the EU, and safeguarding our reputation as a welcoming and efficient destination.”
The European Commission is allowing EES to be suspended in some circumstances until September. But Schulte told the BBC’s World at One programme that individual governments must decide to suspend the system, not airports themselves, adding that queues lengthened while such decisions were being made.
The BBC has contacted the European Commission, which oversees EES, for comment.