Airlines and ACI Europe demand reforms to EU Entry/Exit System over long queues

ACI EUROPE and Airlines for Europe have called on the European Commission and Schengen Member States to reform the Entry/Exit System after waiting times routinely exceed two hours and reach five hours in extreme cases during peak traffic.

The industry bodies say the delays stem from insufficient border staffing, unstable IT systems, limited use of self‑service kiosks and automated gates, and shortcomings in the Travel to Europe pre‑registration app, and they propose a six‑point plan that includes removing duplicate checks, optimising biometric verification, preventing duplicate passenger profiles, upgrading the app and web portal, expanding harmonised automated border control for third‑country nationals, and allowing temporary suspension of biometric registration when queues become excessive.