Low-cost carriers Ryanair and EasyJet have formally asked France, Spain and several other EU states to pause the newly-implemented Entry/Exit System until after the summer peak, The Olive Press revealed on 28 May. The plea follows scenes of “absolute chaos” at airports in Málaga, Gran Canaria and Lisbon, where non-EU passengers – including many Americans and Britons en-route to France – queued for up to four hours to complete fingerprint and facial-scan enrolment. CNN journalist Clarissa Ward missed her flight from Lisbon after what she called “the longest line I have ever seen in my life.” Airlines warn that similar congestion at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle or Nice could cascade across European flight schedules, forcing costly re-accommodation and damaging France’s tourism rebound. Ryanair COO Neal McMahon blasted the “half-baked rollout” and said carriers are bearing the brunt of passenger frustration. So far the French interior ministry has not signalled a suspension, but industry sources say contingency plans include activating additional manual booths and pre-registration kiosks at CDG Terminal 2E before the July holiday rush. Travel managers should advise transferees and short-term assignees arriving from outside Schengen to allow extra processing time and to complete any voluntary pre-enrolment offered by their airline. The episode underlines the operational risk EES still poses to time-critical business travel and may strengthen calls from the French Senate’s Economic Affairs Committee for a phased approach that exempts connecting passengers with tight layovers.
Source: The Olive Press
