European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has acknowledged “technical problems” with the EU’s new digital border system, hours after Ryanair warned that seven airports are “not ready” for the summer crush and urged governments to suspend it until September.
Speaking at a press conference in Cork, Ireland on Friday, von der Leyen said: “We are working with the member states [so] that the technical problems are being solved.” The comments mark a shift in tone from the Commission, which had downplayed disruption linked to the Entry/Exit System (EES). As recently as Wednesday, spokesperson Markus Lammert insisted that “in most EU airports, this impact is indeed limited.”
“Von der Leyen admits 'technical problems' with EU border system as Ryanair names seven struggling airports.”
But airlines and airports see things very differently. Since the EES became mandatory on April 10, waiting times at border control have increased significantly, according to an open letter sent to von der Leyen on Wednesday by airport lobby ACI Europe and airline groups IATA and Airlines for Europe. They said queues now reach “up to five hours during peak traffic periods,” causing flight delays, missed connections and “increasing pressure on frontline staff.” The three organisations urged the Commission to give countries greater flexibility “to completely suspend EES” at least throughout July and August.
The system requires travellers from non-EU countries – including the UK – to register their fingerprints and a facial image the first time they enter the Schengen Area for a short stay. Designed to combat overstays and fraudulent documents, it replaces passport stamps with a digital record. The Commission said earlier this year that registering an entry or exit typically takes about 70 seconds.
Ryanair, the Dublin-based budget airline, has now named seven airports it says are “not ready” to handle the summer passenger volumes due to “insufficient staff, kiosks and system readiness.” The carrier called on European governments to “suspend the rollout” of EES until September, warning that families “face passport queue chaos” and should arrive at airports earlier than usual.
“As schools break up and Europe enters the busiest travel period of the year, it is clear that EES is still not ready for peak summer volumes,” said Ryanair’s chief operations officer Neal McMahon. “Passengers and families should not be used as guinea pigs for a half-baked passport control system that risks creating long queues, missed flights and unnecessary stress at airports this summer.” McMahon added that Ryanair had pressed the governments of “the most exposed countries” but received “zero response.” He noted that Greece has already postponed EES until September, and argued: “It is as simple as postponing EES until September, as other EU countries like Greece have already done.”
Von der Leyen acknowledged that “there’s still quite a lot of work to do to have these technical issues solved together with the member states.” But the aviation industry is losing patience as the summer travel season peaks and passengers continue to face hours-long delays.