Europe's major airlines and airport operators are calling on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to temporarily suspend the EU's new biometric border system during peak summer months, citing operational chaos that has left planes departing half-full and travelers stuck in five-hour immigration queues.
ACI Europe, Airlines 4 Europe, and the International Air Transport Association jointly petitioned the commission to halt the Entry/Exit System (EES) during July and August. The request comes as European airports prepare to handle 40 million additional passengers during the two-month period.
The system, which processes fingerprints, facial photographs and data verification for non-EU arrivals, has struggled to handle current passenger volumes. Some flights have departed with empty seats rather than miss departure windows, while others have left passengers stranded in immigration lines.
The EES began rolling out incrementally in October 2023. Greece temporarily halted biometric checks for British travelers until September to avoid summer disruption, while French police suspended checks at the Dover border in May. Rome's airport director publicly warned the system would need suspension to prevent a summer "disaster."
These actions suggest the infrastructure issues were widely known before peak travel season approached. The industry's formal request frames the problem as insufficient border control staff and unreliable automated kiosks, but also points to a broader regulatory failure in how the system was deployed.
The flexibility mechanism exists within current rules allowing member states to skip some biometric checks under pressure, but the industry is asking for a formal, time-bounded suspension protocol. The commission faces a choice with significant political implications: granting a suspension acknowledges the regulatory timeline was flawed, while refusing risks genuine chaos during Europe's busiest travel season.
The industry groups' letter warns that international travelers are already reconsidering European trips due to border delay concerns, representing documented reputational damage to the bloc.
