Call to suspend new EU border system in peak holiday period as planes leave half full

Airlines and airports say passengers are struggling in queues of up to five hours for biometric checks

Airlines and airports have called for the new EU biometric border check system to be suspended during the peak summer holiday period, warning that some flights are leaving half full and passengers are struggling in queues of up to five hours.

In a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission , airlines and airports asked for an option to suspend checks under the system over fears the situation will get much worse during the busy summer season.

“We have reached a critical point,” said the industry groups ACI Europe , which represents airports, and Airlines 4 Europe and the International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines. “Passengers have already been forced to queue for extended periods outside terminal buildings and on exposed aprons because border control facilities cannot process arrivals quickly enough.

“Airlines face half-empty planes at gate closing time, while passengers are stuck in border control queues.”

Some planes have had to delay takeoff while waiting for passengers, with the groups saying that queues are reaching up to five hours at peak times, while others have had to leave passengers behind .

The groups called on the commission to allow airports to “completely suspend” checks “whenever passenger volumes exceed the operational capacity of border control facilities” during July and August.

The groups said that border authorities, airports and airlines are “under unsustainable pressure”, and called for an “immediate intervention before the situation deteriorates further during the peak summer travel season”.

The system, which has been introduced gradually starting last October, requires non-EU citizens to register with fingerprints and a photograph at their destination airport.

But the rollout has faced significant problems, with Greece suspending biometric checks for British travellers until September to prevent summer disruption.

In May, French police temporarily suspended the extra checks at the port of Dover and last week the head of Rome’s airports said it would have to suspend the system for non-EU citizens to avoid a disaster over the summer.

“Some international travellers are reconsidering trips to Europe because of the prospect of excessive border delays,” the industry groups said. “This is undermining Europe’s reputation, European tourism and connectivity, in particular. “The reputation of the European Union and the confidence in the regulatory framework are … at stake.”

Despite the rules allowing countries some flexibility to skip some of the checks “excessive queues” are still forming, the letter said.

The groups also said that there should be flexibility to continue to suspend checks from September, when the rules to allow some flexibility to skip some checks are due to be phased out, “under clearly defined exceptional circumstances”.

European airports are expected to handle approximately 40 million more passengers in July and August than the previous two months, the groups said.

“The commission and the member states must take stock of the reality of the current situation and of what our air transport system will face over the coming weeks,” the letter warned.

The groups said the ability to suspend the new border checks is needed until there are enough staff to make the system work, and automated kiosks are sufficiently reliable.