Ryanair has warned millions of UK families flying to key Spanish hotspots this summer that they could face delays and longer queues due to the new EES system. The Entry-Exit System, which affects UK travellers entering the European Union and Schengen Area countries, has attracted criticism from Ryanair.
The automated digital border control system, replacing the traditional passport stamps, digitally registers non-EU travellers' entry and exit dates, along with biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images, and its implementation has been blamed for passenger delays.
Now Ryanair has identified the 15 European airports it says are worst-affected, based on slow processing times and excessive passport control queues at both arrivals and departures, including key holiday hotspots in Spain.
These airports are: Lisbon, Tenerife South, Madrid, Lanzarote, Alicante, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, Verona, Paris Beauvais, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt Hahn, Krakow and Budapest.
The airline urges holidaymakers to allow extra time for their journey if they are heading to and from non-Schengen destinations or transiting through the affected European airports.
Ryanair warns passengers to be prepared for long passport control queues as EES checks may require passport scanning, fingerprint capture and facial image verification.
The airline's chief operations officer Neal McMahon, said: "Families heading away for a well-earned summer holiday should be thinking about suitcases, suncream and sangria, not standing in passport queues for hours."
He claimed the EES system "isn’t working properly and families are paying the price for a system that does not work months after launch". He added: "Passengers should not be the testing ground for unfinished border infrastructure.
"We support calls from EU Member States to urgently extend the EES flexibilities. This will give airports and border authorities the time to improve the infrastructure, fix the broken devices and hire more staff so that families can travel through Europe without disruption."
