FLASH
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Airlines and airports have called for the EU's new biometric border control system to be suspended during the peak summer holiday period, saying some flights are flying half-full and passengers are facing hardship in queues of up to five hours.
In a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, airlines and airports asked for an option to suspend checks under the system out of fear that the situation will worsen significantly during the busy summer season.
“We have reached a critical point. Passengers are already forced to queue for long periods outside terminal buildings and on exposed platforms because border control facilities cannot process arrivals quickly enough. Airlines are faced with half-empty planes at gate closing time, while passengers are stuck in border control queues ,” said industry groups ACI Europe, which represents airports, Airlines 4 Europe and the International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines.
Some planes have been forced to delay takeoff while waiting for passengers, with groups saying queues are reaching up to five hours at peak times, while others have had to leave passengers behind.
The groups called on the commission to allow airports to “completely suspend” checks “whenever passenger volumes exceed the operating capacity of border control facilities” during July and August.
The groups said border authorities, airports and airlines are "under unsustainable pressure" and called for immediate intervention before the situation worsens further during the peak summer travel season.
The system, which has been gradually introduced since last October, requires non-EU citizens to register with fingerprints and a photograph at their destination airport. But its implementation has faced significant problems, with Greece suspending biometric checks for British travellers until September to prevent summer disruptions.
In May, French police temporarily suspended extra checks at the port of Dover and last week the head of Rome's airports said it would have to suspend the system for non-EU citizens to avoid a disaster over the summer.
“Some international travelers are reconsidering travel to Europe because of the prospect of excessive delays at borders. This is damaging Europe’s reputation, particularly tourism and European connectivity. The reputation of the European Union and trust in the regulatory framework are… at risk ,” the industry groups said.
Despite rules allowing countries some flexibility to waive some of the checks, "excessive queues" are still forming, the letter said. The groups also said there should be flexibility to continue suspending checks from September, when rules allowing some flexibility to waive some checks are expected to be gradually lifted "under clearly defined exceptional circumstances".
European airports are expected to handle roughly 40 million more passengers in July and August than in the previous two months, the groups said.
"The Commission and member states must examine the reality of the current situation and what our air transport system will face in the coming weeks ," the letter warned.
The groups said the ability to suspend new border controls is necessary until there are enough staff to make the system work and the automated kiosks are reliable enough.
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