Airports demand hated EU border system is scrapped just days before summer holidays begin

The chief executive of a major European airports group has demanded the EU's contentious Entry/Exit System be scrapped just days before the summer holidays begin.

Marco Troncone, who runs Aeroporti di Roma - which operates Rome Fiumicino airport - has blamed a design flaw in the EU's border check system for causing major delays.

Mr Troncone said processing times have doubled since the entry/exit system (EES) was fully launched in April.

"We managed to optimise the process on our end bringing this to 90 seconds (down from two minutes) but it is still too high. This is of course not compatible with 50,000 to 60,000 passengers every day," the airport chief said.

The system requires passengers to register provide both fingerprints and face scans for travellers outside the European Economic Area, which is then checked as they cross the borders of the Schengen free travel zone.

The airport splashed out a hefty sum of £10million preparing for the widely-criticised EES - yet the long queues continue to plague holiday-makers.

"The problem is related to the way this process has been designed. It's not a matter of implementation," he explained to The Times..

Mr Troncone has backed calls from Airports Council International Europe to ditch the system indefinitely until problems are resolved.

The system requires passengers to register provide both fingerprints and face scans for travellers outside the European Economic Area, which is then checked as they cross the borders of the Schengen free travel zone.

Mr Troncone blamed the process of the current EES workflow, which, he said, has created extra steps which "inevitably increase processing times".

The longer processing times ultimately leads to a longer wait time, he explained.

Tourists travelling to and from Lanzarote, Tenerife South, Malaga, Porto, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Krakow, Paris CDG, Rome, Palma, Malta, Menorca, Milan Linate and Malpensa, Naples and Budapest have all been impacted the worst from the delays.

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He criticised the system for being developed with "limited input from airport operators, despite the fact that airports are the ones managing passenger flows every day".

Aviation industry representatives are preparing for crisis talks with the European Commission on Tuesday to address the disruption.

ACI Europe has called for the system to be suspended "at least through July and August".

From September, the industry group wants airports to have the power to indefinitely pause EES in exceptional circumstances.

It says structural challenges must be addressed first, including adequate border staffing, fully working kiosks, and a pre-registration app available in all countries - which is currently only offered by Portugal and Sweden.

Amsterdam Schiphol, Corfu and Naples airports, which have waits of up to three hours, have also urged Brussels to relax the rules.

Meanwhile, two of Europe's biggest carriers, Ryanair and Easyjet, have demanded the system be suspended.

Just last month, a Ryanair flight left without 50 passengers in Greece as flyers were stuck in a "mega-queue", which the Irish airline said was caused by border delays.

And in May, a Ryanair flight from Toulouse departed without 150 passengers as they faced a "scrummage" in border control.

Wizz Air had urged British tourists to arrive at European airports three hours before their flight home departs amid fears of lengthy queues.

However, the decision to suspend the system falls on individual Governments to suspend the system, not airports themselves.

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