Ryanair’s intervention comes after an open letter published online on Wednesday in which top representative bodies for Europe’s airports and airlines said that delays caused by EES had reached a “critical point”.
The airline highlighted seven airports (Image: Dmitri Zelenevski via Getty Images)
Ryanair has issued a warning to families travelling this summer.
The budget airline has lashed out at the EU’s passport control Entry/Exit System (EES), arguing that the system is not ready for the end-of-school-term travel period, when millions of families will travel across Europe for their summer holidays.
Ryanair has called on European governments to suspend the rollout of EES until September, when the busiest travel period has passed, to prevent passengers, many travelling with young families, from being forced to suffer long and avoidable passport control queues.
The airline’s intervention comes after an open letter published online on Wednesday in which top representative bodies for Europe’s airports and airlines said that delays caused by EES had reached a “critical point”.
“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,” the statement from industry groups ACI Europe, which represents airports, Airlines 4 Europe and the International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines, read.
The group claimed some planes have had to delay takeoff while waiting for passengers and that queues are reaching up to five hours at peak times. Recently, The Mirror exclusively reported that huge passport and security queues at Athens Airport led to passengers missing their Ryanair flight – without the EES gates even being in operation.
Ryanair has warned passengers of the increased queues at passport control when travelling to non-Schengen destinations, and urged them arrive earlier at the airport.
Checks may require scanning passports, providing fingerprints and having a facial image taken. Ryanair has claimed that the current infrastructure is “NOT ready to manage the high passenger volumes expected during peak season, due to insufficient staff, kiosks and system readiness.”
“Airports such as Tenerife South, Palma, Alicante, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Krakow and Paris Beauvais are experiencing major disruptions, with further congestion expected as we enter the busiest weeks of summer,” the airline’s statement continued.
Ryanair’s Chief Operations Officer, Neal McMahon, added: “As schools break up and Europe enters the busiest travel period of the year, it is clear that EES is still not ready for peak summer volumes. Passengers and families should not be used as guinea pigs for a half-baked passport control system that risks creating long queues, missed flights and unnecessary stress at airports this summer.
“It is as simple as postponing EES until September, as other EU countries like Greece have already done. Ryanair calls on European Govts once again to delay the implementation to protect passengers, families and airport operations during the school holiday rush, instead of forcing holidaymakers to endure needless passport control chaos.”