Ryanair has issued a caution to families planning to travel this summer. The airline criticized the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES), stating that it is not adequately prepared for the upcoming end-of-school-term rush, as millions of families are set to embark on their summer vacations across Europe.
Calling for a suspension of the EES rollout until September, Ryanair urged European governments to prevent passengers, especially those with young families, from enduring long and unnecessary passport control queues during the busiest travel period.
This call comes following an online open letter by leading bodies representing Europe’s airports and airlines, highlighting the critical delays caused by the EES. The groups cited instances of passengers queuing for extended periods outside terminals and planes facing delays due to slow processing at border control facilities.
According to the industry groups ACI Europe, Airlines 4 Europe, and the International Air Transport Association, queues at peak times have stretched up to five hours, causing significant disruptions at airports like Tenerife South, Palma, Alicante, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Krakow, and Paris Beauvais.
Ryanair’s Chief Operations Officer, Neal McMahon, emphasized the unpreparedness of the current infrastructure to handle the anticipated high passenger volumes during the peak season. He urged a postponement of the EES implementation until after the summer rush to avoid inconveniencing passengers, families, and airport operations.
Passengers traveling to non-Schengen destinations were warned about heightened passport control queues and advised to arrive early at the airport as checks could involve passport scanning, fingerprinting, and facial image capture. Ryanair stressed that the current system lacks sufficient staff, kiosks, and overall readiness to manage the expected summer traffic efficiently.