Aviation News – Major European airports and airlines are warning that the new Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES) could trigger severe passenger delays, with waiting times potentially exceeding four hours during peak summer travel if urgent fixes are not introduced.
Industry bodies ACI EUROPE, Airlines for Europe (A4E) and IATA have raised concerns that the border control system, designed to digitally register non-EU visitors entering and leaving the Schengen area, is already slowing processing at airports. In a joint letter to European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, the groups said travelers currently face waits of up to two hours, citing staff shortages at border authorities, technical faults — particularly with automated gates — and limited adoption of Frontex’s pre-registration app by member states.
The EES requires biometric and passport data collection for non-EU passengers, replacing manual passport stamping with digital tracking. While intended to strengthen security and improve monitoring of overstays, the added checks increase processing time at checkpoints. With about 35% of arriving passengers subject to registration today, a full rollout during July and August would significantly expand the workload at already stretched border posts, raising the risk of congestion across major hubs.