Europe’s Airports and Airlines Demand EES Overhaul as Border Waits Reach Five Hours

A year after the EU launched its biometric Entry/Exit System, the airport association ACI Europe and the airline group Airlines for Europe say border checks are still causing severe queues, with waits often above two hours and up to five hours at the worst peak times, The Local reports. The groups say passengers are missing flights and connections while border and airport staff are stretched thin.

They blame too few border officers, unstable IT systems and a shortage of self-service kiosks and automated gates. Their demands include faster automated processing for non-EU travellers, an end to double verification at kiosks and booths, a rethink of the Travel to Europe pre-registration app, and restoring national powers to partially suspend EES checks when queues grow long.

EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner put the onus on member states to staff their borders properly and urged them to prevent congestion over the Christmas holidays. The system has recorded nearly 230 million entries and exits so far.

Read the original story at The Local.