Aviation industry leaders have called on European Union member states to use established emergency powers to suspend new immigration rules that are causing severe operational disruptions within days of coming into force.
The full implementation of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) on April 10 has increased border processing times by up to 70%, with ACI Europe reporting peak wait times of three hours.
The delays are directly impacting flight schedules. On April 12, easyJet flight EJU5420 from Milan Linate to Manchester departed with 122 passengers missing due to passport control bottlenecks.
An easyJet spokesperson confirmed: “We held [the flight] for nearly an hour to give passengers extra time but it had to then depart due to crew reaching their safety-regulated operating hours.”
Industry bodies ACI Europe and Airlines for Europe (A4E) said that the first day of operations under the new regulations was “marked by passenger disruptions, delays and missed flights.”
Olivier Jankovec of ACI Europe and Ourania Georgoutsakou of A4E said in a joint statement: “It is already evident that greater flexibility is immediately needed. Border control authorities must be allowed to fully suspend the EES when waiting times become excessive.”
These emergency measures were established months ago. On January 30, 2026, European Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert confirmed that member states have the right to partially suspend EES operations for 90 days to protect the travel season.
At the time, Lammert said: “By extending the flexibility for the summer period, we give Member States the tools necessary to manage potential problems.”
ABTA Chief Executive Mark Tanzer has now urged authorities to stop hesitating and use these plans, saying: “Where problems have been experienced so far, some of these could have been avoided if the contingency measures were applied.”
The post Calls for EU Entry/Exit System suspension amid operational chaos appeared first on Aviation Business News.
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