ACI EUROPE and A4E call for 'immediate' EES operational changes
ACI EUROPE and Airlines for Europe (A4E) called (12-Oct-2026) for "immediate" operational and regulatory changes to the Entry/Exit System (EES), warning that excessive waiting times at border control continue to cause "significant" disruption for passengers, airports and airlines across the Schengen area. Proposed measures include:
- Eliminating 'double verification';
- Optimising biometric verification;
- Preventing duplicate EES profiles;
- Upgrading the 'Travel to Europe' app and web portal;
- Accelerating and harmonising Automated Border Control for third-country nationals;
- Restoring the possibility to partially suspend the EES in case of excessive waiting times, as a permanent flexibility mechanism. [more - original PR]
Background ✨
Ryanair COO Neal McMahon urged the European Commission to extend the EES derogation beyond its 06-Sep-2026 expiry to at least Apr-2027, citing malfunctioning kiosks, staffing gaps and excessive queues.1 IATA likewise said EES performance remained inconsistent and warned that ending member-state flexibility to revert to manual checks risked congestion, calling for reliable hardware/software, fully deployed kiosks and e-gates, and a functioning pre-registration app.2