UK Travel Association Urges EU to Extend Border System Suspension to 2027

The UK's leading travel association is calling for the European Union's Entry/Exit System (EES) to remain suspended until 2027, citing fears of continued travel disruption for holidaymakers.

The EES, which requires travelers entering the Schengen Area to submit biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images, has faced criticism since its phased rollout. Reports have highlighted lengthy queues at airports and passengers missing flights due to difficulties with border checks.

Currently, countries are permitted to temporarily suspend EES checks until September 2026 to mitigate disruption. Abta, a major UK travel association, is advocating for an extension of these contingency measures to allow the system to stabilize.

"You cannot roll this out fully until it is stable and efficient, because we don't want to see people being deterred," stated Luke Petherbridge, Abta's director of public affairs, in comments to TTG. He urged the EU to continue its "pragmatic approach" and extend contingency measures if necessary.

Similar sentiments have been echoed by other industry figures. Julia Lo Bue-Said OBE, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, has called for an indefinite pause of the EES. "It's time to stop EES until the EU can prove it works," she said, adding that temporary suspensions at individual ports and airports are insufficient.

"The EU should pause EES properly and only bring it back when it can guarantee the technology, the staffing and the records are right, and that it won't spoil anyone's holiday," Lo Bue-Said stated. "Travellers deserve certainty, not another year of guesswork at the border."

According to an Abta survey, 6% of over 2,000 respondents indicated that the EES process had made them significantly less likely to travel to the EU. The survey also found that 50% of travelers experienced queues of less than 30 minutes due to EES, with 87% spending under an hour in lines.