Airlines urge EU to suspend EES border system over summer

Airlines and airports have called on the EU to suspend the EES biometric scanning system as the peak summer period arrives

European airline associations ACI Europe, Airlines 4 Europe and the International Air Transport Association have written to European Commission President Ursula Van Der Leyen, requesting an option to suspend the system over the busy summer season.

They warn of long queues at airports, planes departing without passengers and the possibility that tourists from third countries will be discouraged from holidaying on the continent.

They have also called for the possibility for suspensions to be extended beyond September until sufficient staff were available and e-gates are working reliably.

While the summer rush is not such an issue on Lanzarote and the Canaries, which have year-round tourism, Lanzarote and other Canarian airports have been experiencing occasional problems with the system.