Aviation groups have called for the EU to take immediate action to avoid “severe disruption” from the implementation of the new Entry-Exit System (EES) in the coming months.
ACI Europe, Airlines for Europe (A4E) and IATA (International Air Transport Association) have written a joint letter to EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner warning that queues at airports could reach “four hours or more” this summer because of issues with the EES biometric system.
EES, which was launched in a phased approach in October 2025, is due to be fully implemented by 10 April. But the EU has promised to give the 29 participating Schengen countries “certain flexibilities” to avoid excessive queues this summer.
ACI Europe, A4E and IATA said in a joint statement : “There is a complete disconnect between the perception of the EU institutions that EES is working well, and the reality, which is that non‑EU travellers are experiencing massive delays and inconvenience.
“This must come to an end immediately. We need to be realistic about what will happen during the peak summer months, when traffic at Europe’s airports doubles. The rollout of EES must be flexible to react to operational realities.”
The three associations said there were currently “persistent excessive waiting times” of up to two hours at border control due to EES. They attributed these delays to understaffing of border checkpoints, technical problems and “limited uptake” of a pre-registration app by Schengen Area countries.
The groups also want the EU to confirm that member states will be able to partially or totally suspend EES until the autumn if necessary. They said the current EU regulation governing EES implementation meant that suspension mechanisms “would no longer be available beyond early July”.
“It remains unclear whether such suspension could still be activated with the necessary flexibility under the conditions set by the Schengen Border Control Code for the relaxation of border control checks,” added the three associations.
Earlier this month, the European Commission told BTN Europe that member states would be able to “partially suspend” EES operations for an additional 90 days after the 10 April deadline, alongside a “possible 60-day extension to cover the summer peak”.