Ryanair has identified seven European airports that are experiencing significant delays and disruption as a result of the European Union's new Entry/Exit System (EES). The airline stated that these issues are impacting airports in Italy, Spain, and France, which are popular destinations for British travelers. This summer marks the first holiday season since the EES was rolled out, a system requiring non-EU tourists to provide personal details, fingerprints, and a photograph for border checks.
According to Ryanair, the Spanish airports most affected are Tenerife South, Palma, Alicante, and Malaga. Passengers are also facing long waits in Bergamo, Italy, Krakow, Poland, and Paris Beauvais, France. The airline has called for the suspension of the EES, warning of potential travel chaos during the peak holiday period.
Ryanair claims that the infrastructure at some airports is unprepared for the expected passenger volumes, citing insufficient staffing and insufficient digital kiosks. Issues have also been reported with the uploading of biometric data, leading to some travelers being asked to re-register their information upon each entry and exit from the bloc.
"As schools break up and Europe enters the busiest travel period of the year, it is clear that EES is still not ready for peak summer volumes," said Ryanair’s Chief Operations Officer, Neal McMahon. "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."
McMahon suggested postponing the EES until September, noting that some EU countries, such as Greece, have already taken such steps. Ryanair is urging European governments to delay the system's implementation to mitigate disruptions for passengers and airport operations during the busy school holiday period.
Instances of missed flights due to the new system have already occurred. In April, over 100 easyJet passengers missed their flight from Milan Linate to Manchester because of passport desk delays attributed to the EES rollout. In June, a Ryanair flight from Toulouse to London departed with 150 passengers missing. While Wizz Air has advised passengers to arrive at airports three hours before their flight, Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary has stated that the airline will not hold flights for passengers delayed in queues.
"Ryanair takes every passenger that is in the boarding gate when the boarding goes out," O'Leary said. "Passengers miss their flight not because we’ve left them behind but because they are stuck in somebody’s passport queue."
The Port of Dover has also expressed concerns, requesting greater flexibility in the operation of the border system. Doug Bannister, chief executive of the port, stated in a letter to a select committee that the summer season could be "a very challenging six weeks." He warned that without flexibility, the port could face "repeated episodes of severe congestion with queueing cars spilling out of the port on to the public highway for miles." The port experienced queues of up to four and a half hours during the Easter period, and anticipates a 30% increase in passengers during the summer peak.
Senior figures from three major aviation bodies have jointly written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, warning that the EES implementation is causing "severe operational consequences disrupting passengers and putting border authorities, airports and airlines under unsustainable pressure."