ACI EUROPE and Airlines for Europe (A4E) have called on the European Commission and Member States to address structural problems with the Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES), as border control waiting times at airports continue to reach five hours at peak periods.
In a joint statement, the two industry associations said queues routinely exceeded two hours in some locations, nearly six months after the system’s full implementation. The disruption has affected passengers, airports and airlines across the Schengen area, with travellers at risk of missing flights and connections.
The organisations said airports had supported border control authorities in efforts to manage the queues, but several underlying problems remained unresolved. These include insufficient staffing at border controls, instability in the IT systems supporting EES, limited deployment and use of self-service kiosks and automated border control gates, and shortcomings in the EU’s Travel to Europe pre-registration app.
Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE, and Ourania Georgoutsakou, Managing Director of A4E said:The EES has strengthened the security of Europe’s external borders – that is a clear achievement. But six months into its full rollout, the system is not delivering on efficient border crossings and the promise of faster, more seamless travel remains unmet.
This is no longer a teething problem, nor can passengers, airports and airlines keep paying the price for avoidable disruption. The time for simply managing the symptoms is over. We need decisive action to fix the structural problems in the EES, streamline its processes and secure efficient border crossings.
The associations argued that further operational and regulatory changes were needed, rather than relying on measures to manage congestion as it occurs. They have outlined a six-point plan intended to reduce processing times, improve the use of biometric technology and give border authorities greater flexibility during periods of congestion.
The proposals include:
- Eliminating double verification: removing unnecessary repeat checks within the border control process.
- Optimising biometric verification: streamlining the procedures used to collect and verify biometric data.
- Preventing duplicate EES profiles: addressing processes that can result in multiple records for the same traveller.
- Upgrading the Travel to Europe app and web portal: improving the tools available for pre-registration before travellers reach the border.
- Accelerating and harmonising automated border control: expanding and aligning the use of automated gates for third-country nationals across the Schengen area.
- Reintroducing partial suspension of EES: allowing biometric registration to be temporarily suspended when waiting times become excessive, as a permanent operational flexibility measure.
The final proposal would restore the option for authorities to partially suspend EES operations by pausing biometric registration during periods of severe congestion. The associations want this flexibility to form part of the system’s ongoing operating arrangements.
The EES is an EU border management system that records the entry and exit of non-EU nationals travelling for short stays in participating European countries. It uses biometric data, including facial images and fingerprints, alongside travel document information to register border crossings and help identify overstays.
