BOSSES at low-cost airline Ryanair have called on Spain to suspend its implementation of the EU’s controversial Entry/Exit System (EES) or face a gruelling summer of chaos at the border.
The Dublin-based budget carrier has written a letter to the governments of all 29 EES countries, including Spain, urging them to follow in the footsteps of Greece and push back the EES until September.
Ryanair says the move will prevent passengers and families from enduring long passport control queues during the busy summer getaway season.
Travellers across Europe have faced lengthy delays since EES machines were officially turned on at all entry points to the Schengen zone on April 10.
Significant disruption has impacted airports across Spain, with the volume of passengers arriving at busy times often outweighing the capacity of new machines.
READ MORE: Spanish airports introduce new rules to help families amid EES border queue chaos
“Despite knowing for more than three years that the EES would come fully into operation from April 10, 2026, Spanish authorities have failed to ensure adequate staffing, system readiness and the installation of kiosks,” Ryanair said in a statement.
“As a result, passengers are facing long queues at passport control and, in some cases, missing their flights.
“Waiting times are already exceeding between one and two hours at airports in Malaga, Alicante, Lanzarote, Tenerife South, Gran Canaria, Reus and Fuerteventura, where staff shortages and system outages continue to cause unnecessary disruption for passengers.”
The EES replaces human-controlled passport stamps with automatic facial recognition and fingerprint scans, digitally recording all entries and exits to and from the borderless zone.
It applies to all non-EU citizens entering the Schengen zone, including British passport holders.
“Governments across Europe are trying to roll out a half-finished IT system during the busiest travel period of the year and passengers are paying the price – being forced to endure hours-long queues at passport control and, in some cases, missing their flights,” said Neal McMahon, Ryanair’s chief operations officer.
“The solution is simple and already considered in EU legislation: governments should suspend the EES until September, when the peak summer travel season has passed, as Greece has done.
“This would allow passengers – many of whom are travelling with families and young children – to enjoy a smoother airport experience during their summer holidays.”
Last year, Ryanair served more than 66 million passengers in Spain.
The airline’s latest plea comes just days after Spanish airports agreed to implement new border rules aimed at supporting thousands of holidaymakers disrupted by EES chaos.
Spanish airport operator Aena has told staff to allow vulnerable passengers to skip lengthy passport queues if waits for biometric machines exceed 25 minutes, according to reports.
The new mandate will impact British families with young children and people with disabilities.
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