EU border rules causing travel chaos ahead of summer peak, industry warns
Key takeaways
- European airlines and airports call for flexibility to suspend digital border system amid severe delays.
- “We therefore urge your immediate intervention before the situation deteriorates further during the peak summer travel season.”
- “Without additional flexibility, existing challenges will inevitably intensify,” they said.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
European airlines and airports call for flexibility to suspend digital border system amid severe delays.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Passengers queue at the Berlin Brandenburg airport after the closure of its runway due to severe ice, in Berlin, Germany, on February 6, 2026 [Liesa Johannssen/Reuters]By John Power Published On 2 Jul 20262 Jul 2026The European Union’s new digital border check system is causing severe disruption to travel, with passengers facing five-hour queues and departure gates closing with planes only half-full, industry representatives have warned.
In an open letter published online on Wednesday, the top representative bodies for Europe’s airports and airlines said that delays caused by the bloc’s recently-implemented Entry/Exit System (EES) had reached a “critical point”.