EU border delays could hinder sustainable travel, airports warn
Berlin Airport’s chief says non‑EU passengers are forced to stand for up to two hours under the EU’s new digital border system, raising concerns that the summer holiday season could suffer from long queues and fuel‑wasted standby flights.
Protocol problems and waiting times
The Entry‑Exit System (EES) should modernise passport checks but has been criticized for fragmented implementation, with some airports running out of functional biometric kiosks. Passengers who missed flights in Rome experienced a 90‑minute queue and paid £250 for a new ticket—an outcome that could spike carbon emissions from extra ground time.
The environmental angle
Delays increase idle time on tarmac, raising fuel consumption and greenhouse‑gas output. Airlines urge the Commission to accept temporary pauses on EES checks where the system is still offline, arguing that keeping flights on schedule is more sustainable than letting passengers wait end‑to‑end in queues.
Stakeholder push‑back
The Airports Council International Europe wrote to Ursula Von Der Leyen, warning that wait times could reach up to five hours in peak periods and that flight cancellations would waste resources. An EC spokesperson replied that “all efforts are being made to limit the impact of EES on travellers from outside the EU,” but the gap between intentions and execution remains.
