N. Peter Kramer’s Weekly Column
The important summer season has only begun, but nerves at the EU airports are already on edge. The introduction of the new European Entry/Exit System (EES), an invention of the European Commission, is increasing the already long queues at EU airports’ border controls, when passengers arrive from a non-Schengen country.
The EES was supposed to be fully operational by April. It requires the non-Schengen passengers to register their fingerprints and have their faces scanned upon arrival and departure. However the rollout has been difficult for months. ‘Things are still not running as they should’, is the conclusion at the airports, ‘we regularly experience technical problems.’
The airport umbrella organisation, ACI Europe, wrote last week an open letter to Von der Leyen. The EES has ‘serious operational consequences, disrupts passenger traffic and puts border authorities, airports and airlines under unsustainable pressure’. The letter concludes with ‘we have reached a critical point’. Therefore ACI Europe is calling for the system to be suspended ‘completely’ during the busy summer season and for ‘permanent flexibility’ to be maintained from September onwards.
The Commission president acknowledged the problem during a press conference last week: ‘We are working with the member states to solve the technical problems’. However a full suspension is not imminent, writes Euractiv, citing sources within the Commission.
