Overview
- A coalition of airport and airline groups told European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in a joint letter that the Entry/Exit System (EES) rollout has reached a critical point and needs urgent action.
- The groups asked on July 1 for member states to be allowed to completely suspend EES preventively during peak July–August traffic and for a permanent operational flexibility mechanism thereafter.
- Since the system went fully live in April, multiple airports and the Port of Dover have reported long waits, kiosk inoperability, repeated biometric re-enrolments and instances of passengers missing flights.
- Industry warns European airports will face roughly 40 million extra passengers in July and August, which it says will amplify delays unless kiosks, staffing and data‑upload reliability are fixed.
- The European Commission says most airports see only limited impact and has agreed to meet industry representatives, leaving a near‑term test over whether Brussels will grant wider suspension powers before peak travel.