Ryanair issues a caution to families planning summer travel, criticizing the EU’s passport control system’s readiness for the upcoming peak travel season. The airline urges European governments to delay implementing the Entry/Exit System (EES) until after September to avoid long and unnecessary passport control queues, particularly affecting families with children.
The call for suspension of the EES rollout comes following concerns raised by top bodies representing Europe’s airports and airlines about significant delays caused by the system. According to industry groups ACI Europe, Airlines 4 Europe, and the International Air Transport Association, passengers have experienced lengthy queues, leading to flight delays and missed connections.
Reports indicate that some flights have been held up due to passengers stuck in passport control queues, with wait times of up to five hours during peak periods. The situation at airports like Tenerife South, Palma, Alicante, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Krakow, and Paris Beauvais has been described as disruptive, with further congestion expected during the busiest summer weeks.
Ryanair emphasizes the challenges faced by passengers traveling to non-Schengen destinations, advising them to arrive early at airports due to the enhanced checks required, including passport scanning, fingerprinting, and facial imaging. The airline highlights the inadequacy of the current infrastructure to handle the anticipated high passenger volumes during peak season, citing insufficient staff, kiosks, and system preparedness as key issues.
Chief Operations Officer Neal McMahon underscores the need for postponing the EES implementation until after the busy summer season, aligning with the decision already made by Greece and calling on other European governments to prioritize passenger and airport operations’ smooth functioning. Ryanair emphasizes the potential risks of implementing an unprepared passport control system during the school holiday rush, urging authorities to prevent unnecessary chaos and stress for travelers.