Stefan Schulte, president of ACI Europe, Europe’s airports trade organisation, has stated that politicians should “stop pretending… that EES is working just fine. It is not.”

EES (Entry Exit System) is the pan-EU electronic system that requires travellers from outside the EU to register biometric information when entering most European countries and to check when they leave.

Although EES has been working well in some countries, it has also been blamed for causing significant delays at a number of airports, including Frankfurt, Milan and Athens airports, leading to some passengers missing flights.

“We urgently need full flexibility for border control authorities to suspend the EES whenever needed to avoid further chaos, along with a rethink of those processes,” Schulte said.