European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has admitted that the EU’s new digital Entry/Exit System is suffering from “technical problems” amid growing complaints from airports and airlines over long queues and missed flights.
The system, known as EES, requires non-EU travellers, including visitors from the UK and United States, to register biometric data such as fingerprints and a facial image when entering the Schengen Area for a short stay. It replaces traditional passport stamping with a digital record designed to identify overstayers and detect fraudulent documents.
However, the rollout has caused serious disruption during Europe’s busy summer travel season. Airport and airline groups say border waiting times have increased sharply, reaching up to five hours at peak periods in some locations.
In an open letter to von der Leyen, ACI Europe, IATA and Airlines for Europe warned that millions of passengers were being affected by delays, missed connections and pressure on frontline staff. They called for EU countries to be allowed to suspend EES checks where necessary during July and August.
Von der Leyen said the Commission was working with member states to resolve the issues, acknowledging that “quite a lot of work” remained.
The Commission had previously played down the disruption, saying the impact at most EU airports was limited and that an entry or exit registration usually takes around 70 seconds.
Industry bodies strongly dispute that assessment, pointing to operational problems at major airports. Some locations have temporarily suspended biometric data collection during peak periods to ease congestion.
The Commission has defended the system, arguing that it improves security without changing the legal rules for entering or leaving the EU. Officials say hundreds of people posing a security risk have already been identified through EES checks.
Irish Home Affairs Minister Jim O’Callaghan said around 110 million passengers had passed through the system since its introduction and that approximately 1,000 security-risk individuals had been detected.
Despite those security benefits, the aviation industry says the system needs greater flexibility until the technical problems are fixed.
