The boss of Berlin Airport has said non-EU nationals arriving in the German capital are having to queue for up to two hours under a new digital border system, and warned the situation is "not bearable over the summer."
Aletta von Massenbach told the BBC that at one terminal in Berlin, where Ryanair and Wizz Air operate, waiting times can run between "an hour to two hours." Under the EU's new Entry-Exit System (EES), travellers from outside the bloc must register biometric information when entering most European countries, which is checked when they leave.
System inconsistencies and passenger impact
Von Massenbach said one issue was that EU countries used different systems. "There are so many sub-systems for each and every member state," she told the BBC's Today programme. "We see that the complexity doesn't really support smooth processing at the border."
Anne Robinson from Dunbarton said she and her 13-year-old son missed their flight home from Rome because of the system. She estimated they queued for up to 90 minutes at Rome airport, where most EES machines were out of order. "By the time we got through, we unfortunately missed the flight," she said, adding: "I'm not going back to Europe this year. That was too stressful."
Industry concerns and calls for action
Airports lobby group ACI Europe has written to EC president Ursula Von Der Leyen, claiming wait times at border control had now reached up to five hours in peak traffic periods, and warning that things could worsen as the busiest time of the year approached. It warned "airlines face half-empty planes at gate closing time, while passengers are stuck in border control queues."
Airlines UK and Airlines for America said the EES rollout had been inconsistent and added that "with peak summer travel approaching and the system not yet working as it should, airlines need the commission and member states to get serious about contingency measures." Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2, said his airline found "the continued pursuit of a policy so baffling - in cases where it has clearly not been implemented in a robust manner."
Von Massenbach said there had been a "very high level meeting in Brussels" on Wednesday, "and we see now that they start to understand that this is a situation that is not bearable, not bearable over the summer."
European Commission response
An EC spokesman said that "all efforts are being made to limit the impact [of EES] on travellers from outside the EU." He said the impact was "limited" in "most" EU airports and where there were issues, member states had not been able to provide sufficient numbers of border guards, appropriate infrastructure and automated equipment. The spokesman said the EC continued to offer support with the new system, and was willing to do even more "in view of the coming summer period."
Countries do have the ability to suspend EES checks under some circumstances. However, ACI Europe argued states needed to be allowed to pro-actively suspend the system if high volumes of passengers are expected.
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