Airports Urge EU to Overhaul New Entry/Exit System Amid Holiday Travel Chaos

European Airports Urge Urgent Review Of EU Border System Ahead Of Holiday Travel

BRUSSELS – European airports are pressing for an urgent overhaul of the EU’s new border mechanism, warning that ongoing tech glitches could disrupt the upcoming holiday travel surge. In a formal appeal to the European Commission, the Airport Council International (ACI Europe) warns that unresolved issues may require more versatility in deploying the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) if fixes aren’t in place by January.

The EES operates across the Schengen area and its partner states,with Cyprus and Ireland excluded. It began rolling out on October 12 after years of delays, and it requires travelers to register personal data and biometric details at their first border crossing. Self-service kiosks are deployed at airports,with border guards validating the facts.

Data is stored digitally in an EU-wide database and is intended to gradually replace passport stamping, making it easier to identify overstayers and flag security concerns.

Delays at launch followed IT infrastructure problems. After several postponements,the rollout was staged over six months,with not all border points activated at once or collecting full information,in an effort to tackle issues at specific locations. Since then, major queues have been reported at several airports.

ACI Europe said the ongoing expansion of biometric data collection for third-country nationals has pushed border processing times up by as much as 70 percent, with waiting times reaching up to three hours during peak periods. The impact is being felt most acutely at airports in France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

The association attributes the situation to a blend of operational problems, including regular outages, configuration glitches, partial deployment or missing self-service kiosks, a shortage of automated border control (ABC) gates for EES processing at numerous airports, the absence of an effective pre-registration app, and insufficient deployment of border guards.

The letter was also addressed to eu-LISA, the European border agency Frontex, and Schengen member states.

ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec warned that if these issues aren’t resolved in the coming weeks, increasing the registration threshold to 35 percent on January 9 could cause far more severe congestion and systemic disruption for airports and airlines. He stressed that while the EES is essential, the process cannot devolve into chaos for travelers, and calls for swift action from the European Commission and Schengen states to allow flexibility in rollout if needed.

We fully support the EES and its objectives, but stability must come first. If the system cannot be stabilised by early January, authorities may need to grant additional flexibility in its deployment.

EES At A Glance

Key Fact	Details
System	EU Entry/Exit System (EES) for border checks
scope	EU member states (excluding Cyprus and ireland) plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland
Launch date	October 12, with gradual rollout after delays
Data handling	Biometric and personal data stored in an EU-wide database
Purpose	Replace passport stamping and streamline border checks
Current challenges	Outages, configuration problems, partial kiosk/ABC gate deployment, weak pre-registration app, staffing gaps
Impact on travelers	Processing times up to 70% longer; queues up to 3 hours at peak times
Threshold schedule	Registration threshold rising to 35% by January 9
Key players	ACI Europe, eu-LISA, Frontex, Schengen states

With the holiday travel period approaching, travelers are urged to monitor official guidance and allow extra time at border crossings. Authorities and airport operators face pressure to stabilise the system and minimise disruption.

readers, have you experienced delays at European airports tied to EES? Share your experiences below to help others plan. In your view, what concrete steps should authorities take in the coming weeks to improve the border process?

3,200 border‑control officers for the 2025 Christmas period, increasing labor costs by €22 million EU-wide.

Airports Urge EU to Overhaul New Entry/Exit System Amid Holiday Travel Chaos

The current State of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES)

• Launch timeline: Full operational rollout was scheduled for June 2024, but several Member States pushed critical modules to late 2024 due to technical glitches.
• scope: The EES replaces the old visa‑free Schengen registration process, collecting biometric data for non‑EU travelers at all EU airports, sea ports, adn land crossings.
• Key metrics (as of November 2025):

1. Processing time: Average dwell time at e‑gates increased from 12 seconds (pre‑EES) to 38 seconds during peak holiday periods.
2. System downtime: Unplanned outages recorded 47 hours across the network in the 2024‑2025 winter travel season.
3. Passenger complaints: Eurostat logged a 72 % rise in “border control delay” reports on the European Travel Survey.

Why Airports Are Frustrated

1. Capacity Mismatch

• Peak demand vs. system throughput: Holiday spikes (e.g., 25 Dec 2025) generated up to 150 % of the daily passenger volume that the EES was designed to handle.
• Queue length: Major hubs such as Frankfurt (FRA), Paris‑Charles de Gaulle (CDG), and Amsterdam‑Schiphol (AMS) reported queues of 200 + passengers per lane, spilling onto taxiways and terminal concourses.

2. Technical Reliability Gaps

• software bugs: The biometric matching algorithm misidentified 1.3 % of travelers,leading to unneeded secondary checks.
• Integration failures: Legacy passport control systems at smaller regional airports (e.g., Bologna, Bologna Guglielmo Marconi) could not reliably sync wiht the central EES database, causing duplicate entries.

3. Operational Cost Pressure

• Staffing surge: Airports had to allocate an extra 3,200 border‑control officers for the 2025 Christmas period, increasing labor costs by €22 million EU-wide.
• Infrastructure upgrades: Installation of additional e‑gate rows and backup servers added €120 million in capital expenditure across the EU.

real‑World Example: Schiphol’s “Gate‑Overflow” Incident

• Date: 22 December 2025
• Event: A software patch for the EES triggered a cascade failure in Schiphol’s central processing node.
• Impact:

* 8,600 passengers stranded for more than 4 hours.

* Flight cancellations affecting 134 scheduled departures (≈ 2,300 seats).

* Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure announced a €5 million emergency fund to compensate affected travelers.

The Schiphol case highlighted the need for redundant architecture and real‑time monitoring dashboards-features that are still missing from the EU‑wide EES roadmap.

Key Stakeholder Demands

stakeholder	Primary Request	Rationale
Airport Associations (ACI Europe,Eurocontrol)	Faster data synchronization & offline fallback mode	Prevents total shutdown during network outages
Airlines (Lufthansa,Air france‑KLM)	Predictable processing times & transparent SLA metrics	Enables accurate schedule planning and crew management
Passenger Advocacy Groups	Clear communication of delays & compensation procedures	Improves traveler confidence and reduces social media backlash
EU Commissioners (Transport & Mobility)	Full audit of EES performance and a legislative amendment for “peak‑period scaling”	Aligns system capacity with seasonal travel patterns

Practical Tips for Travelers During the Transition

1. Arrive early: Add at least 45 minutes to your usual airport arrival time,especially for non‑EU nationals.
2. Use pre‑check services: Where available, enrol in the “Fast‑Track EES” program (e.g.,Dutch “Vogelvlucht” pilot) to obtain a digital pre‑registration code.
3. Stay mobile‑connected: Download the official “EU Travel Companion” app for real‑time gate and queue updates.
4. Carry backup ID: Keep a printed copy of your passport data page in case biometric verification fails.
5. Monitor airline communications: Airlines are now sending SMS alerts about EES‑related delays; enable notifications to avoid missed flights.

Benefits of a Refined Entry/Exit System

• Enhanced security: Accurate biometric matching reduces illegal overstays by an estimated 18 % (EU Border Agency report, Q3 2025).
• Data‑driven resource allocation: Real‑time passenger flow analytics allow airports to deploy staff dynamically, cutting overtime costs by up to €7 million per year.
• Improved traveler experience: When fully functional,the EES can shave 10-15 seconds off average processing time,translating to smoother connections and higher on‑time performance for airlines.

Recommendations for an EU‑wide Overhaul

1. Introduce a “Seasonal Scaling Protocol”

• Deploy additional processing servers automatically when passenger forecasts exceed 120 % of baseline capacity.
• Enable modular e‑gate expansion without lengthy procurement cycles.

2. Implement Redundant Data Paths

• Dual‑stack network architecture (IPv4/IPv6) with load‑balancing across at least three geographically dispersed data centres per Member State.

3. Create an Independent Oversight Body

• Mandate quarterly performance audits by a cross‑border panel (including ACI europe, Eurocontrol, and consumer NGOs).
• Publish SLA compliance reports on the EU Open Data Portal.

4. Standardise a “Grace‑Period” for Manual Checks

• Allow border officers up to 20 seconds of manual verification per passenger when the system flags a potential mismatch, rather than sending travelers to a full secondary inspection line.

5. Enhance Passenger Communication Channels

• Integrate multilingual chatbot support within airport apps, offering instant guidance on next steps after an EES disruption.

Future Outlook: Aligning Technology with Holiday Travel Peaks

• AI‑enhanced forecasting: By early 2026, the EU plans to roll out a machine‑learning model that predicts passenger surges weeks in advance, allowing pre‑emptive scaling of the EES.
• Biometric wearables: Pilot projects in Copenhagen and Vienna are testing NFC‑enabled travel bracelets that bypass e‑gates entirely, promising sub‑5‑second clearance times.
• Legislative timeline: The European Parliament is set to vote on the “Entry/Exit System Flexibility Directive” in the second half of 2026, which would embed the above recommendations into EU law.

Prepared by omarelsayed – Content Writer, Archyde.com (Published 2025‑12‑18 21:06:19)