Europe’s leading aviation associations – representing airports, network carriers and low-cost airlines – have written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for an immediate mechanism to suspend biometric EES processing when passenger volumes exceed capacity. The letter, published on 3 July and signed by ACI Europe, A4E, ERA and others, cites waits of “up to five hours” already recorded at external Schengen borders since full activation in April. Industry leaders argue that Member States’ ability to postpone taking biometrics until early September has not eliminated bottlenecks, especially at airports serving UK leisure traffic. They warn that July–August will see 40 million extra passengers and that the reputational damage could deter visitors, disrupt hub connections and undermine Europe’s competitiveness. For UK corporates the stakes are high: 46 % of UK business trips last year were to Schengen countries. Extended immigration queues can cascade into missed meetings, crew duty-time violations and mounting airline disruption costs that are ultimately passed to corporate travel budgets.
![Airports and airlines issue open letter demanding emergency EES flexibility]()
For travellers who want to minimise those risks, VisaHQ offers a convenient way to sort out all advance travel authorisations in one place; its UK platform tracks the latest EES developments and can help corporate road-warriors and holidaymakers alike pre-register, obtain the right documents and breeze through border controls even when airport systems are under strain.
The associations propose letting border guards revert to passport stamping during peak surges, plus accelerated rollout of self-service kiosks and a mandatory pre-registration smartphone app before the system becomes unavoidable for third-country travellers such as Britons. While the Commission has so far insisted the regulation already contains sufficient derogations, private correspondence seen by TravelMole suggests officials are now studying a “traffic light” model whereby airports could activate a suspension protocol once queue-time thresholds are breached.
For travellers who want to minimise those risks, VisaHQ offers a convenient way to sort out all advance travel authorisations in one place; its UK platform tracks the latest EES developments and can help corporate road-warriors and holidaymakers alike pre-register, obtain the right documents and breeze through border controls even when airport systems are under strain.
The associations propose letting border guards revert to passport stamping during peak surges, plus accelerated rollout of self-service kiosks and a mandatory pre-registration smartphone app before the system becomes unavoidable for third-country travellers such as Britons. While the Commission has so far insisted the regulation already contains sufficient derogations, private correspondence seen by TravelMole suggests officials are now studying a “traffic light” model whereby airports could activate a suspension protocol once queue-time thresholds are breached.
