The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called on the European Union to extend flexibility measures for its Entry/Exit System (EES) beyond their 6 September expiry, warning that removing them before outstanding problems are resolved risks further congestion and disruption at European borders.
Speaking at an IATA EU media briefing at the Press Club Brussels Europe on Thursday, 3 September, Thomas Reynaert, Senior Vice President, External Affairs at IATA, said the possibility of partially suspending EES procedures should remain available until the end of the winter season. “Extending the possibility of partial suspension beyond 6 September is absolutely necessary until the end of the winter season,” Reynaert said.
The comments come just three days before the current flexibility mechanism is due to expire and amid continued concerns from airlines, airports and European governments over the performance of the new biometric border system.
IATA stressed that it is not calling for the EES itself to be postponed or weakened. Instead, the organisation argues that authorities should retain what Reynaert described as a “safety valve” until the system can operate consistently across Europe.
“The question here is not whether EES should happen. We’re fully supportive of EES,” he said. “But whether Europe is actually ready, as we speak, in the next couple of days to remove the safety valve.”
Four conditions before flexibility is removed
The EES began its phased rollout in October 2025 and became fully operational across 29 European countries in April 2026. It replaces manual passport stamping with electronic registration of non-EU nationals entering and leaving the Schengen Area, including the collection of biometric information such as fingerprints and facial images.
Under the existing rules, national authorities have had the possibility, in exceptional circumstances, to temporarily suspend parts of the system when operational difficulties threaten to create excessive disruption. That flexibility is currently scheduled to expire on 6 September.
IATA argues that four conditions should be met before it is removed: adequate staffing at border crossings; stable and reliable EES hardware and software; fully operational self-service kiosks and automated border control gates; and wider deployment of pre-registration tools across member states.
Reynaert said pre-registration in particular could provide the greatest short-term operational improvement by moving part of the process away from already congested border-control areas.
“The optimal queue is the one that never forms,” he said, arguing that as much passenger processing as possible should take place before travellers reach the airport or border.
First-time EES registrations continue to place particular pressure on border infrastructure because travellers have to provide biometric information when registering with the system.
IATA says the experience varies significantly between member states, with some performing considerably better than others.
Processing times have tripled in some cases
According to Reynaert, hardware failures, software instability and inconsistent system performance have contributed to processing times that have, in some cases, tripled.
“A digital border is only as strong as the technology behind it,” he said. When the technology fails, he argued, passengers face a poor experience and lose confidence in the system, while airlines ultimately bear part of the operational cost when travellers are delayed.
IATA is calling for a common standard of performance across Europe rather than what Reynaert described as “dramatically different passenger experience depending on the point of entry”.
The organisation also wants member states to accelerate the deployment of self-service kiosks and automated border-control gates, while ensuring sufficient staffing remains available, particularly when automated systems fail.
The consequences are not limited to longer waits at passport control. Reynaert said EES-related delays have resulted in passengers missing flights, being offloaded from aircraft and losing onward connections.
He also warned of the reputational consequences for European travel.
“It also gives Europe a bad reputation,” he said. “We’ve seen coverage outside of Europe and in Europe about this problem. It doesn’t really help.”
The immigration line for nonEU at @BrusselsAirport after 1.5hours. Why dont they allow other passport holders with Belgian residence cards (don't need to do the EES processing) to use the EU line when it's almost empty? Makes the situation a whole lot better. @IndEmbassyBru pic.twitter.com/C5jUAOdn6I
— ion (@ionfeeldcharge) September 1, 2026
Six-hour queues ‘not an exaggeration’
During the briefing’s question-and-answer session, Reynaert was challenged over previous aviation industry warnings that EES could lead to queues of up to six hours.
Asked whether such warnings had been exaggerated given that EES appears to be operating effectively at some airports, he rejected the suggestion.
“No, it’s certainly not an exaggeration,” Reynaert said, adding that waits of up to six hours represented an extreme but had been recorded during the summer.
He acknowledged that the situation differs considerably across Europe, with border control working well at many airports and improving at others, while performance has deteriorated elsewhere.
IATA argues that one difficulty in assessing the scale of the problem is the lack of sufficiently consistent operational data.
Reynaert called for member states and national authorities to share relevant information with airlines and airports so that common performance criteria can be established and the different parties can work from the same data.
IATA has been working with Airports Council International Europe (ACI EUROPE) on the issue but wants more structured cooperation between the European Commission, member states, airports and airlines.
“No single stakeholder has a complete picture,” Reynaert said, calling for shared performance indicators and regular dialogue between authorities and industry.
@hannahewhitlock The new EU entry system is screwing everyone over 🫠 #airport #airportcustoms #eu #europetravel #travel ♬ original sound – leah
Nine countries have already called for an extension
Pressure on Brussels to maintain the flexibility mechanism has been building over the summer.
As Travel Tomorrow previously reported, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland wrote to European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Magnus Brunner in July urging the EU to allow the partial suspension mechanism to remain available beyond 6 September.
160 million movements registered – that means almost 3 million per week, out of which 50,000 people with no right to enter were refused.
— Magnus Brunner (@magnusbrunner) August 21, 2026
Delivering real security benefits – the EU’s new Entry Exit system. pic.twitter.com/psDBbwzreg
Governments have warned that removing the safeguard before outstanding operational problems are addressed could result in severe congestion at busy border crossings.
Airports and airlines have raised similar concerns after significant queues were recorded following the rollout of biometric checks. ACI EUROPE, Airlines for Europe (A4E) and IATA have called for greater flexibility after reporting hours-long border delays at some airports.
🚨 @WTTC endorses the request from @ACI_EUROPE, @A4Europe and @IATA for a coordinated implementation of the Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES).
— WTTC (@WTTC) July 2, 2026
Secure borders and seamless travel must go hand in hand to protect Europe's competitiveness and the traveller experience.
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More recently, reports suggested that the EU could extend the temporary flexibility measures beyond September, with European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas reportedly indicating that flexibility around the checks could continue if necessary.
For IATA, however, keeping the suspension mechanism does not mean stepping back from the EU’s transition towards digital borders.
“We’re not asking for delaying or weakening EES,” Reynaert stressed. “We’re asking to ensure that EES can operate effectively before flexibility measures are removed.”
Alongside an extension until the end of the winter season, IATA is asking member states to accelerate pre-registration, continue investing in technology, infrastructure and staffing, and establish closer cooperation with the European Commission and the aviation industry.
With the 6 September deadline now only days away, the question is no longer whether the aviation industry wants the safeguard extended, but whether Brussels will allow national authorities to retain it as Europe enters the autumn and winter travel season.
