Five hours at the border: Europe's aviation industry pushes back on red tape

JSBy Joan SanzCurated by Joan Sanz. · July 1, 2026 · Follow on LinkedIn

Voice reading · ~1 min

European airlines and airports have sent an open letter to Ursula von der Leyen urging her to ease EES biometric checks during peak traffic. The reason: queues already stretch up to five hours at borders such as Frankfurt and Amsterdam-Schiphol, and the situation will worsen in summer 2026.

The industry expects 40 million additional passengers in July and August alone. Current waiting times cause cascading delays, missed connections, and unbearable pressure on ground staff. The problem is that EES, built for security, was not designed for seasonal tourism spikes.

From Notitur's perspective: the EU must turbocharge flexibility or this summer will become a mess of angry passengers and empty planes waiting on the tarmac. This is not about removing controls but activating an exception mechanism when flows surge. If not, the reputational damage to European airports will be massive, and travelers will start looking at alternative routes through non-Schengen hubs.

Quick questions

Why are there 5-hour queues at European airports?

Because the EES biometric checks aren't designed for seasonal peaks. Airlines and airports asked Ursula von der Leyen to relax controls during high demand, as queues already cause delays and missed connections at Frankfurt and Schiphol.

What do airlines demand from the EU on EES?

They demand an exception mechanism to make biometric checks flexible when traffic surges. Not to remove security, but to avoid 5-hour queues that already create chaos and reputational damage for European hubs.

How many extra passengers are expected in summer 2026?

40 million additional passengers are expected in July and August. The sector warns this will worsen queues, hurt airport reputation, and push travelers to look at alternative routes outside Schengen.

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