EU Entry/Exit System Triggers Airport Delays, Ryanair Identifies 15 High-Risk Hubs
New biometric border controls cause five-hour queues and missed flights, prompting airline warnings ahead of summer travel.
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Carla Rooney
The European Union's Entry/Exit System (EES) has initiated widespread delays across Schengen area airports, with Ryanair pinpointing 15 specific hubs facing substantial disruption.
The Entry/Exit System (EES), launched on April 10, mandates that all first-time users register fingerprints and facial images into a new biometric database.
This digital record replaces traditional physical passport stamps for travelers, with data remaining in the system for three years to streamline future border controls.
Months after the EES went live, many airports still lack fully functioning self-service kiosks; border staffing levels remain inadequate to process peak passenger volumes, Ryanair confirms.
The airline asserts the EES system fails to operate properly, and families bear the cost of a dysfunctional system months after its launch.
Passengers should not serve as the testing ground for unfinished border infrastructure.
Ryanair maintains that passengers should not serve as the testing ground for unfinished border infrastructure.
Beyond the legal debate, wait times at border control have reached up to five hours in some instances since the EES rollout, Airports Council International (ACI) confirms.
This creates immense strain for staff across the continent, impacting operational efficiency.
The new EES generates slow processing times and excessive queues, Ryanair claims, predicting unnecessary delays for UK families.
The airline also reports repeated instances of passengers waiting in queues for hours across various countries, with some missing their flights home.
Historically, the concept of a unified European border control system emerged following the 2015 migrant crisis, pushing for enhanced security and more efficient tracking of non-EU citizens.
The EES represents a significant technological shift from the manual passport checks that defined European travel for decades, moving towards a fully digitized border management framework.
Meanwhile, on the ground, stakeholders across the aviation industry, including airlines and airport operators, voice concerns regarding the system's readiness and its impact on passenger flow.
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) issued guidance emphasizing the non-discriminatory implementation of EES, particularly for vulnerable groups.
Airports such as Schiphol, Madrid, and Barcelona implemented measures like assistance services and separate queues for passengers with reduced mobility to mitigate some EES-related challenges.
This strategic shift follows a broader landscape of digital transformation in border security, where technological ambition frequently collides with operational realities.
Millions of families could face disruption due to problems with this new EU system, Ryanair warns, as the summer travel season approaches.
The EES system fails to operate properly, and families pay the price for a system that does not work months after launch.
The airline insists the EES system fails to operate properly, and families pay the price for a system that does not work months after launch.
Ryanair reiterates that passengers should not be the testing ground for unfinished border infrastructure.