European airports and airlines have written to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asking for the new Entry/Exit System (EES) to be suspended during the peak summer months because of the long queues it is causing at border control.
What is the EES?
The EES replaces the stamping of passports with an electronic record of non-EU travellers entering and leaving the Schengen area, including fingerprints and a facial image. It affects British and other non-EU visitors arriving in Spain. In the long run it is meant to make border checks faster and more secure.
The problems
According to the letter, since the system went fully live in April:
- waiting times at passport control have reached up to five hours at peak times;
- some passengers have missed flights while stuck in queues, with planes leaving with empty seats;
- airports have suffered delays, missed connections and pressure on staff;
- smaller airports serving holiday destinations are also struggling.
Member states have already used a temporary flexibility measure, suspending the collection of biometric data until early September in certain cases, but the industry says this is not enough for the summer peak.
What the industry wants
- An immediate suspension of the EES in July and August whenever passenger numbers exceed the capacity of border facilities.
- A permanent mechanism from September allowing the system to be paused in clearly defined exceptional circumstances.
- These measures to remain until structural problems are fixed, including enough border staff, a stable system, a pre-registration app in all countries, and the full deployment of self-service kiosks and automatic gates.
Why it matters for the Balearics
Palma airport handles millions of British passengers every summer, all of whom are subject to the EES. Long queues on arrival are a poor first impression for visitors, and delays on departure risk missed flights.
The airports and airlines say they support the system and have invested heavily to prepare for it, but warn that describing it as a success while passengers spend hours in queues risks damaging trust in the EU.
