European aviation groups urge urgent review of Schengen EES ahead of summer travel.

The Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES) continues to cause major delays for travellers, according to a warning from ACI EUROPE (Airports Council International), A4E (Airlines for Europe), and IATA (International Air Transport Association). Severe interruptions during the busy summer months are a genuine possibility if prompt action is not taken to give adequate flexibility, with lines perhaps lasting four hours or longer.

Airports and airlines wrote to Magnus Brunner, EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration:

1. As required under the current phase of the EES progressive rollout, which requires that 35% of all third-country people entering the Schengen zone be registered, signal ongoing unreasonable wait times of up to two hours at airport border control.
2. List the three main problems that are causing EES delays: ongoing understaffing at border control, unresolved technical problems, particularly with regard to border automation, and Schengen states’ extremely low adoption of the Frontex pre-registration app.
3. Advise that required EES registrations at all border crossings during the busiest summer months, especially July and August, would result in wait times of up to four hours or longer unless these urgent problems are resolved.
4. Request confirmation from the European Commission that Schengen Member States will continue to have the authority to suspend EES whole or in part until the end of October 2026. In accordance with Regulation 2025/1534’s gradual approach, the suspension mechanisms would cease to function after early July. Whether such a suspension could still be implemented with the required flexibility under the Schengen Border Control Code’s requirements for the easing of border control inspections is still up in the air.

“There is a complete disconnect between the perception of EU institutions that EES is working well and the reality, which is that non-EU travellers are experiencing massive delays and inconvenience,” stated Thomas Reynaert, SVP External Affairs of IATA, Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE, and Ourania Georgoutsakou, Managing Director of A4E. This needs to stop right away. Given that airport traffic in Europe increases during the busy summer months, we must be realistic about what will actually occur. EES deployment needs to be adaptable to operational circumstances. Its success and the preservation of the EU’s standing as an effective, hospitable, and appealing travel destination depend on this.