Industry Alarms Over Operational Readiness
European aviation leaders have issued an urgent appeal to the European Commission, calling for the suspension of the bloc’s new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) throughout the peak summer months. Ryanair, along with major industry bodies including Airports Council International and Airlines for Europe, warns that the current infrastructure is ill-equipped to handle the massive influx of passengers expected in July and August.
The EES, which replaces manual passport stamping with mandatory fingerprinting and facial image scanning for non-EU nationals, has been linked to significant operational bottlenecks. Ryanair’s Chief Operations Officer, Neal McMahon, described the system as “half-baked,” warning that families and travelers are being treated as “guinea pigs” as they face mounting queues and missed flights.
Infrastructure and Staffing Under Pressure
According to Airports Council International, European airports are bracing for approximately 40 million more passengers this summer compared to the previous two months. The industry argues that the 70-second average processing time per passenger, cited by the European Commission, is unrealistic under current staffing levels and kiosk availability. Industry representatives have warned that airport staff are increasingly facing abuse from frustrated passengers as wait times spiral.
The pressure on the Commission is mounting, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledging that “there is still quite a bit of work to do” to resolve the system’s technical shortcomings. While the Commission has suggested that member states can exercise flexibility by suspending checks during peak congestion, industry leaders argue that this is an insufficient stop-gap measure for a system that requires a fundamental reassessment of its rollout.
Specific Points of Failure
Ryanair has flagged several airports as critical hotspots already experiencing major disruptions, including Tenerife South, Palma, Alicante, and Málaga in Spain; Milan Bergamo in Italy; Krakow in Poland; and Paris Beauvais in France. The European Commission has invited industry representatives to an urgent meeting to address these concerns, as stakeholders push for a delay in full implementation until at least September or, potentially, until next year.