Up to 3-hour delays at airports due to new EU entry system
Kyiv • UNN
The new biometric registration system has caused chaos at Schengen borders. Passengers are waiting for hours, and airlines are requesting delays.
Travelers passing through some European airports are reportedly waiting up to three hours at border control due to the new EU Entry-Exit System (EES), UNN reports, citing The Guardian.
Details
Passengers at airports in countries such as France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Greece are waiting several hours at border control, the Airports Council International (ACI) reported.
Olivier Jankovec, director of ACI's European division, told the Financial Times: "This situation in the coming weeks and certainly in the peak summer months will simply be unmanageable."
"We are seeing these queues now, during peak hours, when traffic is just starting to build up," he noted.
The EES came into force on Friday in the Schengen Area countries – 25 of the 27 EU states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. It requires passengers from non-EU countries to register their personal information and biometric data at the border.
The system has been gradually implemented since October and has already caused long delays at some airports. On Sunday, the BBC reported that more than 100 passengers were unable to board an easyJet flight from Milan to Manchester before its departure due to delays at passport desks.
Airport representatives and the European Commission met on Tuesday to discuss issues with the system. ACI reportedly requested an extension of existing exemptions and the authority to fully suspend new checks.
Jankovec told the FT that ACI needs the ability to "fully suspend EES registration whenever there are excessive waiting times at border control that are simply unmanageable."
A European Commission spokesperson said: "From the first days of full operation, we see that the system is working very well. In the vast majority of member states, there are no problems."
The European Commission stated that the average passenger registration time was 70 seconds, although ACI claimed it could take up to five minutes.
The spokesperson said there were "a few member states where technical issues have been identified," but they are "being resolved."
They said: "Member states must ensure the proper implementation of the EES on the ground."
The spokesperson added that since the EES was introduced in October, over 52 million entries and exits have been registered, along with over 27,000 refusals of entry. Of these, almost 700 individuals were identified as posing a security threat.
Ahead of Easter and before the full launch of EES on April 10, passengers crossing the English Channel from the UK to France were informed that they did not need to provide any biometric information due to delays in France's development of the technology required to collect and process the data.
The EES issues arise as European airports are also preparing for potential disruptions in aviation fuel supply caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. On Friday, ACI wrote to EU energy and transport commissioners, predicting that the bloc would face a systemic shortage in three weeks.
Europe to face jet fuel shortage in a few weeks - Bloomberg10.04.26, 17:30 • 3348 views
According to the International Energy Agency, Europe consumed about 1.6 million barrels of aviation fuel per day last year, of which approximately 500,000 were imported, with about 75% coming from the Middle East.
Michael O'Leary, CEO of Europe's largest airline Ryanair, said the EES system is causing queues of up to four hours at some airports, calling it "a complete mess and chaos" and a punishment for Brexit. He suggested the EU postpone full implementation until October.