Urgent action needed to resolve EES queues ahead of summer peak

This column first appeared in Travel Weekly on 2 June 2026.

ABTA's Mark Tanzer and Airlines UK’s Tim Alderslade warn of hour-long delays and call for system contingency extension.

We are now nearly two months on from the full implementation of the EU’s Entry-Exit System (EES) on April 10.

Following the recent May half-term getaway, it is clear that urgent action is still required to get this system working properly in time for the peak summer season and beyond.

ABTA and Airlines UK, along with European and global aviation trade bodies and industry partners such as ACI Europe and ECTAA, have been engaged on the topic of EES for many years.

We have remained clear throughout that while we support the overall objectives of the system –to digitise and enhance border security across Europe – this must be balanced with operational efficiency. There are real risks that, if the system is implemented poorly, it will damage the reputation of Europe and compromise traveller safety.

As we approached April, joint activity across trade bodies was ramped up, both at Commission and destination level, as well as with the UK government. The industry has been sharing data and intelligence on what is happening on the ground, urging a more pragmatic approach that uses the contingencies available within existing legislation to avoid the build-up of significant queues.

Together, Abta and Airlines UK have written, alongside counterparts in America and Canada, to every Schengen country, the Commission and UK embassies overseas.

These letters have raised the need to use contingency measures to stand down checks at busy times, highlighted the importance of adequate border staffing levels, and urged better take-up of the Travel to Europe app, alongside the extension of e-gate usage to enable faster processing.

These steps remain vital to ensuring the summer peak period is delivered with as little disruption as possible. We will be reaching out to partners across Europe to reiterate our concerns in the coming days.

Existing contingency measures enable checks to be stood down until September. But given we are already in June, and still seeing queues of an hour or more across many destinations during busy periods, there is a clear need to question the deliverability of the system on current timelines.

At the very least, we believe these contingency measures must now be extended to the end of the Iata summer season in late October.

Consideration must also be given to matters such as the wider rollout of the Travel to Europe app, and how this could be used to upstream checks and speed up the arrival process.

Similarly, better triaging of arriving passengers – for example, splitting out those who have registered from those who haven’t – could help make the process smoother for those who have completed the forms. To date, the approach to these operational matters has been inconsistent and inadequate, with a seeming lack of central coordination or sharing of best practice.

It is important not to lose sight of the fact that many people are still getting away with minimal disruption to their journeys. That is the other side of the joint activity being undertaken: ensuring a balanced, fact-based approach in the media that avoids scaremongering.

But there is no escaping the reality that improvements are urgently needed.