European airlines warn of ‘severe disruption’ from new border checks

PARIS - European airlines warned on Feb 11 that the

new entry system for travellers into the Schengen open-borders zone

will cause “severe disruption” over peak summer months, and called for action to resolve “critical issues” behind already existing delays.

The new Entry/Exit System (EES), in place since October, aims to replace stamps on passports and secure better information-sharing between the bloc’s 27 states with automated photographs and fingerprints for non-EU nationals.

“Failing immediate action to provide sufficient flexibility, severe disruptions over the peak summer months are a real prospect, with queues potentially reaching four hours or more,” stated a joint letter by the European arm of the Airports Council International, Airlines for Europe and the International Air Transport Association.

The three organisations said they wrote to Mr Magnus Brunner, European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, to highlight “persistent excessive waiting times of up to two hours at airport border control” despite only a phased rollout since October.

The goal of the EES is for authorities to better detect anyone overstaying in the Schengen area, or people who have been refused entry.

But the airline groups pointed to “chronic border control understaffing” as well as “unresolved technology issues” pertaining to automation.

The groups called on the commissioner to confirm whether Schengen members would have the option to partially or fully suspend the EES until October in order to allow flexibility over the summer months. AFP