The head of Europe's airports lobby says he does not know how airports will cope with the new EU border system as summer travel peaks – and warns that politicians must stop pretending it is working. Stefan Schulte, president of ACI Europe, told an industry event in Prague: “Passengers are queuing for hours at peak traffic times and I just do not know how we will be able to cope in the coming weeks with the expected increase in traffic.”
Schulte, who also runs the company that owns Frankfurt Airport, said the concerns were keeping him and other industry bosses awake at night. The EU’s Entry-Exit System (EES) requires travellers from outside the EU to register biometric information – including facial scans and fingerprints – when entering most European countries, which is then checked when they leave. Although some airports have managed it well, others have seen significant delays, with passengers missing flights.
“Europe's airport chief warns he doesn't know how airports will cope as new EU border system causes hours-long queues and missed flights.”
Earlier this month, dozens of Ryanair passengers travelling from Athens to London Luton were left stranded after their flight departed without them. Ryanair blamed border delays; the airport said it had been experiencing congestion linked to “additional processing requirements”. Neither directly said EES was responsible, but it was the latest in a series of incidents. In April, passengers flying from Milan Bergamo and Milan Linate to Manchester also missed their flights due to problems at passport control.
Wizz Air has urged British holidaymakers to arrive at European airports three hours before their flight home to allow for lengthy queues. Schulte said: “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. 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 allows EES to be suspended in some circumstances until September. But Schulte told the BBC’s World at One programme that individual governments – not airports – must decide to suspend it, adding that queues lengthened while such decisions were being made. He called on politicians to “stop pretending… that EES is working just fine. It is not.”