Advantage chief backs Ryanair call to suspend EES rollout until September

Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said has backed Ryanair’s call to suspend the rollout of the EU’s passport control Entry/Exit System (EES) until September.

Ryanair has written to the governments of the 29 EES countries urging them to follow Greece in delaying the launch of EES until autumn to “ensure smooth airport operations for passengers this summer”.

The carrier warned passengers could be “forced to suffer long passport control queue delays” over the peak summer months if there is no suspension, as it applauded the “more pragmatic” approach taken by Greece.

Ryanair chief operations officer Neal McMahon said: “Governments across Europe are attempting to roll out a half-baked IT system in the middle of the busiest travel season of the year, and passengers are paying the price.”

More: UK travellers continue to enter and exit Greece without biometric checks

Lo Bue-Said supported Ryanair’s call, saying EES has “continually faced issues and caused disruption for travellers since its [phased] introduction”.

“This is only set to continue as we head into the peak summer months with thousands of Brits set to travel to the EU for their holidays,” she added.

“Today’s statement from Ryanair highlights the growing discontent across the travel industry and follows Greece’s decision to completely drop requirements for UK travellers until September.

“At Advantage, we have been calling for a delay now for the last few months and fully support Ryanair’s call on EU governments to suspend EES.”

Lo Bue-Said believes a delay would “allow authorities to properly assess operational pressures, ensure consistent readiness across member states, and increase staffing at key border points before scaling up further”.

“Until EES can be implemented without a detrimental effect on the traveller experience, there must be flexibility otherwise we face undermining consumer confidence within the travel sector at a vital time,” she added.

Ryanair’s efforts to delay the introduction of EES come after Jet2 urged other European countries to follow in Greece’s footsteps by suspending biometric checks for UK holidaymakers.

The company said it was “engaging directly” with authorities across its network of destinations to consider suspending EES checks until processes and systems are ready.