Ryanair has issued a warning to millions of UK families traveling to Europe this summer, anticipating hours of passport queue misery due to disruptions from the European Union's Entry/Exit System (EES).
The airline stated that with schools breaking for summer and passenger volumes peaking, the new biometric system, which began its rollout on April 10, is likely to cause significant delays and long queues at airports. Ryanair has identified several "EES hotspots" where passengers have already experienced substantial delays, including Lisbon, Tenerife South, Madrid, Lanzarote, Alicante, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, Verona, Paris Beauvais, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt Hahn, Krakow, and Budapest.
Under the EES, non-EU citizens are required to have their fingerprints and photos taken at EU borders. However, months after its implementation, many airports still lack fully functioning self-service kiosks, and border staffing levels and infrastructure are deemed inadequate to handle peak passenger volumes. This has led to delays, with some passengers reportedly missing flights.
Similar disruptions have occurred previously. In April, approximately 100 easyJet customers were left stranded at Milan Linate Airport due to three-hour queues following the implementation of the new EU border rules. One easyJet flight from Milan Linate to Manchester was delayed by 52 minutes, but ultimately departed half-empty as crew hours were nearing their limit. Another incident involved a Ryanair flight from Milan Bergamo to Manchester departing without a number of passengers who were caught in EES delays.
Ryanair is advising UK passengers traveling to or transiting through affected European airports to allow extra time for their journeys and be prepared for extended waits at passport control. The airline supports calls from EU Member States to extend current EES flexibilities into early 2027. This extension, Ryanair believes, would provide airports and border authorities with the necessary time to improve infrastructure, fix malfunctioning equipment, and increase staffing levels to ensure the system operates efficiently before full enforcement.
"Families heading away for a well-earned summer holiday should be thinking about suitcases, suncream and sangria, not standing in passport queues for hours," said Neal McMahon, Ryanair's chief operations officer. "The reality is that the EES system isn't working properly and families are paying the price for a system that does not work months after launch. Passengers should not be the testing ground for unfinished border infrastructure."
Research from travel company Holiday Extras suggests that the EES could impact tourism spending in Schengen destinations. The study indicates that one in 30 people have already altered their holiday plans due to border control queues, with almost a fifth likely to change their plans this year. When applied to broader economic data, the study suggests the Schengen Zone could lose approximately £1.9 billion in UK tourist revenue in 2026 alone. Spain, France, and Italy are projected to face the largest losses.