Europe airport queues may worsen this summer: IATA

Speaking at the International Air Travel Association (IATA’s) 82nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Rio de Janeiro, Rafael Schvartzman said delays linked to the digital entry/exit system (EES) are already happening across several European countries even before the peak holiday season begins, reports Gulf News.

“We are already seeing delays and misconnections in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Belgium, and elsewhere,” he said. “Without action, these problems will worsen over the summer and cause major disruption for passengers.”

The European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES), which replaces manual passport stamping with digital border registration for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen zone for short stays, is now operational across 29 participating European countries.

It affects travellers from countries including the US, UK, UAE, India and other non-EU states, the Commission confirmed. Under the new process, passengers must have biometric data and travel details registered electronically at border checkpoints. But airlines and airports say the rollout has exposed serious operational problems.

One of the biggest concerns raised by IATA is that airports are already experiencing disruption before the busiest summer travel period has even started.

Schvartzman said airlines are seeing passengers miss flights and connections because of long waits at border control. “I know for a fact that there are many cases where people have lost flights, or have lost their connectivity,” he said.

He added that some passengers are already having “a very difficult time” entering Europe. The warning is significant because aviation officials are now publicly discussing queue times far beyond earlier estimates.

While previous industry warnings mentioned delays of up to four hours, Schvartzman said expectations are now reaching “three, four, five, six hours”.

According to IATA, the problem is not just one issue but several problems happening at the same time. The organisation says border checkpoints remain understaffed, some kiosks and technology systems are unreliable, and coordination between airports, airlines and governments is inconsistent. One major issue is processing time.

Currently, a standard passenger check without EES takes about 20 to 25 seconds, according to IATA. “With EES, we are talking about 90 seconds,” Schvartzman said.

That means even if the system works perfectly, passenger processing could take more than three times as long as before.
“If it works, it’s 90 seconds. Then if it doesn’t work, then how long does it take?” he said.

He also pointed to technical glitches and the challenge of linking EU-wide systems with different national border systems across 27 countries.

While he said airlines have become more resilient in handling crises, he warned that Europe must improve the “resilience” of its aviation sector by lowering operational costs, improving air traffic management efficiency and reducing airport charges.

He added that some airlines are already rationalising routes and relying on fuel hedging strategies as uncertainty continues.