Ryanair warns of ‘passport queue chaos’ with new EU border system
Ryanair has warned the EU’s new biometric border system will cause “passport queue chaos” this summer and called on European governments to halt the rollout until after the busy travel season.
The budget airline said the new system “is not ready” for the large volume of people travelling to Europe over the summer and urged EU governments to “suspend the rollout” of the system.
Under the EU’s new Entry / Exit system (EES) those travelling from outside of the EU are required to register biometric information when entering the majority of European countries.
The airline said airports facing “major disruptions” from the new check system include Palma, Alicante, Milan, Krakow, Tenerife South, and Malaga.
Ryanair’s chief operations officer, Neal McMahon said it “is clear the EES is still not ready for peak summer volumes”.
“Passengers and families should not be used as guinea pigs for a half-baked passport control system that risks creating long queues, missed flights and unnecessary stress at airports this summer,” McMahon said.
“Ryanair calls on European Govts once again to delay the implementation to protect passengers, families and airport operations during the school holiday rush, instead of forcing holidaymakers to endure needless passport control chaos,” he said.
This follows a cluster of aviation industry groups calling on the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, on 1 July to pull back on rolling out the new biometric system.
In a joint open letter to von der Leyen, representatives from ACI Europe, Airlines 4 Europe, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the system “is creating severe operational consequences disrupting passengers and putting border authorities, airports and airlines under unsustainable pressure.”
“This is not an issue confined to Europe’s largest hubs. Smaller airports serving major tourism destinations are equally affected,” they said.
The groups described the situation as at a “critical point”, with schools across Europe set to break up for summer and families heading on their annual holidays.