Ryanair has warned of “queue chaos” this summer at EU airports because of a new digital border check system, as the European Commission scrambles to convene an urgent meeting with the air industry next Tuesday. The airline, Europe’s largest, said passengers should not be used as “guinea pigs” for a “half-baked” passport control system that risks creating long queues, missed flights and unnecessary stress.
The Entry-Exit System (EES) – fully operational since April – requires non-EU travellers to register biometric information when entering most European countries, and again when leaving. While some airports have managed smoothly, there have been regular reports of long waits at peak times, with some passengers missing flights home. The boss of Berlin Airport, Aletta von Massenbach, told the BBC’s Today programme that at one terminal – used by Ryanair and Wizz Air – waiting times can run between “an hour to two hours”. She warned the situation is “not bearable over the summer”.
“Ryanair warns of 'queue chaos' at EU airports this summer due to new fingerprint checks, urging suspension until September.”
Ryanair’s chief operations officer, Neal McMahon, said: “It is clear that the entry/exit system (EES) is still not ready for peak summer volumes. 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.” The airline listed seven airports already “experiencing major disruptions”: Tenerife South, Palma, Alicante, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Krakow and Paris Beauvais.
Airlines for Europe and Airports Council International have asked the commission to suspend the new border controls at least throughout July and August – and potentially for a full year – arguing that airports are not ready to cope with the passenger influx, and that staff are being subjected to abuse as queues build for fingerprinting. The European Commission says it is willing to offer more support.
Technology issues have also prevented EES from being used at the Port of Dover, where French border checks take place. A new processing area with 84 kiosks to record fingerprints and photographs is not being used because the kiosks’ technology – the responsibility of the French authorities – cannot be activated. Port of Dover chief executive Doug Bannister told MPs that “time is rapidly running out” to fix it. “We are rapidly heading towards the start of the critical summer period and are yet to receive the assurances we need to avoid what has the potential to be a very challenging six weeks,” he said.
Last week, the head of Europe’s airports trade body said worries over the EES were keeping him and other industry bosses awake at night. The EES was conceived to give countries in the Schengen travel area greater visibility of who is entering and leaving the EU – a plan that has been in the pipeline for 10 years and was finally implemented last October. But with the summer holiday period approaching, the system’s readiness remains in doubt.