What a nightmare the new EU entry/exit scheme is proving to be across Europe and it is due to come into full force in April. The Airports Council International (ACI Europe), Airlines for Europe (A4E) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have warned that the Entry/Exit System (EES), implemented since 12 October, continues to cause ‘significant’ delays for passengers, with queues of four hours or more expected during the summer months. They are therefore calling for an immediate review of border controls before the peak in traffic.
They have made this known to the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, in a letter in which they identify three ‘critical’ problems: the ‘chronic’ lack of staff, unresolved technological problems, especially with border automation, and the ‘very limited’ adoption of the Frontex pre-registration application by Schengen states.
In addition, the letter urges the European Commission to confirm that Schengen Member States will retain the ability to partially or totally suspend the EES until the end of October 2026. ‘Under the progressive approach set out in Regulation 2025/1534, the suspension mechanisms would no longer be available from the beginning of July. At present, it remains unclear whether such a suspension could be activated with the necessary flexibility under the conditions set out in the Schengen Borders Code for the relaxation of border controls,’ the three organisations explained.
For ACI Europe, A4E and IATA, there is a ‘total disconnect’ between the EU institutions’ perception that the EES is working properly and the reality: ‘non-EU travellers suffer massive delays and inconvenience’. ‘This must stop immediately. We must be realistic about what will happen during the summer months, when traffic at European airports doubles,’ they said.
In December, Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe, cautioned that the expanding rollout “will inevitably result in much more severe congestion and systemic disruption for airports and airlines”. He warned that this could result in “serious safety hazards”.
Jankovec recently told the BBC that being able to pause the EES would be vital this summer if “the situation becomes unsustainable at border control”. In January, travel trade association ABTA, as the Bulletin reported, urged greater use of contingency measures by EU border officials to facilitate the scale-up.
“We are urging border authorities to do all they can to minimise delays. They have contingency measures at their disposal – such as standing down the system or limiting checks – and we want them to be utilised to help manage the flow of people,” said Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA. “Where problems have been experienced so far, some of these could have been avoided if the contingency measures were applied.”
And, the deputy spokesperson for Vox in the Council of Mallorca, David Gil, announced on Saturday that the party will present a motion at the next plenary session to demand that the government reinforce the police force responsible for passport controls at Palma airport.
Gil assured that there is a situation of ‘chaos and saturation’ that travellers are suffering, ‘especially those from outside the Schengen area, due to the lack of foresight on the part of the General State Administration’. For the Vox spokesperson, the collapse of border controls is not a one-off event, ‘but a sign of the inaction and lack of responsibility of the Sánchez government’. ‘Mallorca lives off tourism. We cannot allow the first impression of those who visit us to be endless queues and inefficient service,’ he said.