Europe’s new digital border control system is still suffering from ‘technical problems’ and requires ‘quite a lot of work’ before those issues are fully resolved, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (main image) has acknowledged, following growing criticism that the scheme is causing severe disruption at airports during the peak summer travel season.
Speaking at a press conference in Cork, Ireland, on Friday, von der Leyen admitted the rollout of the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) had not been without difficulties.
‘We are working with the member states [so] that the technical problems are being solved,’ she said. ‘There’s still quite a lot of work to do to have these technical issues solved together with the member states.’
The comments represent a notable shift in tone from the European Commission, which until recently had sought to play down the impact of the new border controls. Earlier this week, Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert insisted that ‘in most EU airports, this impact is indeed limited’. ALSO READ: The EU launches Entry/Exit System (EES) biometric border checks.
The EES was introduced to replace traditional passport stamping for non-EU nationals entering the bloc, digitally recording travellers’ personal details, fingerprints and facial images. The system is designed to combat overstays, identify fraudulent travel documents and improve border security by creating a digital record of every entry and exit. ALSO READ: EU’s new EES border system catches 7,000 Schengen overstayers in six months.
Von der Leyen stressed that the scheme ‘did not change the legal frame about rules of entering and exiting the EU; it just creates transparency about abiding to the rules’.
The system applies across the 27-member European Union, with the exception of Ireland and Cyprus, as well as non-EU members of the Schengen free movement area including Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. Travellers from countries such as the UK and the United States must register their biometric data the first time they enter the Schengen area for a short stay.
However, airlines and airports say the technology is creating major operational problems as passenger numbers surge during the summer holidays.
Airport operators and airline associations claim waiting times at some border crossings have now risen to as much as five hours, leading to flight delays, missed connections and mounting pressure on frontline staff. ALSO READ: Airports & airlines urge EU to rethink EES rollout amid fears of ‘4-hour queues’ and summer travel chaos.
In a joint open letter sent to von der Leyen this week, ACI Europe, Airlines for Europe (A4E) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents more than 360 airlines worldwide, warned that the situation was affecting millions of passengers.
‘Waiting times at border control have increased significantly, now reaching up to five hours during peak traffic periods,’ the organisations wrote.
‘These delays are impacting millions of passengers entering the Schengen Area … At the same time, airports and airlines are experiencing growing operational disruption, including flight delays, missed connections and increasing pressure on frontline staff.’
The aviation industry has called on Brussels to give national authorities greater flexibility to suspend the new checks completely during periods of exceptionally heavy traffic, particularly throughout July and August, when European airports expect to handle up to 40 million additional passengers.
The European Commission is due to meet representatives of the aviation industry on 7 July to assess the situation and discuss possible improvements.
Despite acknowledging the technical difficulties, Brussels has continued to defend the system’s wider benefits.
The Commission has previously estimated that registering each traveller should normally take around 70 seconds, particularly where self-service kiosks or pre-registration apps are available. Yet implementation has been uneven.
When the system became mandatory on 10 April, border officers at major airports such as Rome’s Fiumicino Airport were still entering passenger information manually. So far, only Sweden and Portugal have activated the mobile applications designed to speed up processing, while several airports and ports have temporarily suspended biometric data collection during peak periods in an effort to reduce congestion.
EU officials also argue that the new system is already delivering important security results.
Since its launch in October 2025, approximately 108 million to 110 million passengers have passed through EES checks. During that period, around 44,000 people were refused entry, the vast majority because they lacked the appropriate travel documents or visas.
The Commission has also said the system identified more than 700 people considered to pose a security risk to Europe during its first months of operation.
Irish Minister for Home Affairs Jim O’Callaghan said that figure has since increased.
‘It is effective in terms of protecting European Union security,’ O’Callaghan said, adding that ‘approximately a thousand people’ identified as security risks have now been detected through the EES.
Despite mounting criticism from the aviation sector, the Commission has maintained that the reform was agreed collectively by EU member states and continues to insist its security benefits outweigh the disruption.
