EU border rules causing travel chaos ahead of summer peak, industry warns

European airlines and airports telephone for flexibility to suspend integer borderline strategy amid terrible delays.

The European Union’s caller integer borderline cheque strategy is causing terrible disruption to travel, with passengers facing five-hour queues and departure gates closing with planes lone half-full, manufacture representatives person warned.

In an unfastened missive published online connected Wednesday, the apical typical bodies for Europe’s airports and airlines said that delays caused by the bloc’s recently-implemented Entry/Exit System (EES) had reached a “critical point”.

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“The existent implementation of the EES is creating terrible operational consequences, disrupting passengers and putting borderline authorities, airports and airlines nether unsustainable pressure,” Airports Council International Europe, Airlines for Europe, and the International Air Transport Association said successful a associated missive addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“We truthful impulse your contiguous involution earlier the concern deteriorates further during the highest summertime question season.”

With European airports expected to grip 40 cardinal much passengers successful July and August than the erstwhile 2 months, EU leaders “must instrumentality banal of the world of the existent concern and of what our aerial transport strategy volition look implicit the coming weeks”, the lobby groups said.

“Without further flexibility, existing challenges volition inevitably intensify,” they said.

“As representatives of Europe’s aviation sector, we person a work to pass that this would effect successful a important worsening of an already precise hard concern for passengers.”

Warning that the question disruption was undermining the estimation of the EU and European tourism, the manufacture groups said it was important that the continent continued to beryllium an “efficient, welcoming and competitive” destination.

“Reports already suggest that immoderate planetary travellers are reconsidering trips to Europe due to the fact that of the imaginable of excessive borderline delays,” they said.

A constabulary serviceman scans a passport during a presumption of an automated terminal for registration to the Entry/Exit System (EES) astatine the Vaclav Havel airdrome successful Prague, Czech Republic, connected October 14, 2025 [David W Cerny/Reuters]

Until the stableness of the EES is ensured and capable staffing levels are successful place, EU subordinate states should beryllium instantly granted the flexibility to “completely suspend” the caller strategy whenever rider numbers transcend the “operational capacity” of borderline facilities, the lobby groups said.

The World Travel and Tourism Council, the world’s largest typical assemblage for tourism-related businesses, said connected Wednesday that it endorsed the letter’s calls, informing that the delays could enactment up to 41 cardinal arrivals and $45.4bn successful visitant spending astatine risk.

“If lengthy delays go accepted practice, travellers volition look elsewhere,” WTTC President and CEO Gloria Guevara said successful a statement.

“Europe cannot spend to compromise its competitiveness oregon the acquisition it offers millions of visitors.”

The European Commission did not instantly respond to a petition for remark sent by Al Jazeera extracurricular of regular concern hours.

The EU began rolling retired the EES successful October arsenic a replacement for passport stamping.

The strategy records each traveller’s name, passport information, fingerprints and facial images, and his oregon her day and spot of introduction and exit.

The European Commission announced that the ESS was “fully operational” crossed the Schengen Area successful April, but the strategy has been blamed for lengthy delays since its introduction, including cases of flights leaving earlier galore of their passengers were capable to board.