Airlines call for EES flexibility as summer queues intensify

Europe’s aviation sector has formally asked the European Commission for more room to suspend EES checks at Schengen airports this summer. In an open letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 1 July 2026, the airport body ACI Europe, Airlines for Europe and IATA wrote that “today we have reached a critical point”, Euronews reported, citing waits of up to five hours at peak times, missed connections and planes leaving half empty while passengers were stuck at border control. A Commission spokesperson told Al Jazeera it would respond “shortly” and had called an urgent meeting with member states and industry.

What airlines and airports are asking for

The letter asks for two things. First, immediate flexibility for member states to suspend EES fully, as a precaution, whenever passenger volumes exceed what border facilities can handle, at least through July and August. Second, by September, a permanent mechanism, designed with member states and industry, that lets border authorities suspend EES procedures in defined exceptional circumstances.

That goes further than the current rules. Under Article 7 of the EES rollout regulation, a member state can only partially suspend EES at a given crossing, for a maximum of six hours, when traffic makes waiting times excessive. During that pause passport data is still recorded, but fingerprints and facial images are not taken. The option runs until early September. Portugal’s police paused biometric collection at departures in Lisbon, Porto and Faro on 11 and 12 April, according to Lusa, and in June the head of Rome’s airports warned that they might have to suspend the checks during the peak, ANSA reported.

The industry argument is that this limited pause has not prevented excessive queues. Skipping the biometrics still leaves every passenger to be registered at the desk; the airlines want the option to switch EES off entirely when halls overflow. Our explainer on the biometric pause covers how the current mechanism works in practice.

Where queues stand right now

This is the first full peak season since EES became fully operational on 10 April 2026. European airports expect around 40 million more passengers in July and August than in the previous two months, according to the Euronews report, and the letter warns that smaller airports serving holiday destinations are struggling too, with passengers queuing outside terminals. At the worst points, waits have reached five hours.

First-time Schengen visitors take longer because their biometric data is not yet on file. Fingerprints and a facial image are taken at the desk or a kiosk, which adds time to every first crossing. The pressure builds when several long-haul flights land close together and funnel passengers into the same arrivals hall.

As a senior Frontex official said in June 2026, first-time biometric enrolment is the hardest part of the EES rollout, and he expects the situation to stabilise in one or two years as more travellers have records on file. Summer 2026 is the most difficult point in that curve.

What the Commission can and cannot do

The suspension rules are written into a regulation adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. Allowing full suspensions after the rollout, or extending the pause beyond early September, would normally mean changing that law, which the Commission cannot do on its own by decision.

What the Commission can do is press member states to staff their borders properly and to use the existing pause where it is needed. That is its line so far. On 25 June a Commission spokesperson said the EES rules “provide the flexibility needed to ensure smooth border crossings” and that it is up to member states to implement the system on the ground, ANSA reported. Speaking to Al Jazeera after the letter, a spokesperson said the impact of EES at most airports had been “limited” and that member states must ensure the necessary operational capacity is in place. That may shift if the disruption worsens through July.

What to do if you are travelling to Europe this summer

Plan as if biometric checks are running in full at your arrival airport. Whether or not any flexibility is extended, the safest position is to allow a substantial buffer beyond your normal airport arrival time. At the busiest Schengen hubs in July and August, two to three extra hours is a reasonable allowance for first-time EES visitors.

If the airport activates a biometric pause while you are in the queue, you will not be asked for fingerprints or a facial image. Your entry is still recorded in EES using your passport details, and your Schengen 90-day allowance counts from that date regardless. Nothing about your day count is affected.

Does this change anything for ETIAS?

No. ETIAS, the EU’s pre-travel authorisation, has no official start date yet (press reporting on EU planning points to 2027). It is applied for online before you travel and verified at the border alongside EES, not as a replacement for it. The current queue issues are an EES capacity problem during rollout. ETIAS adds a pre-departure check layer; it does not replace the biometric scan at the border. No action is required yet. Applications are not open. For where the ETIAS timeline currently stands, see the ETIAS status page.