Call to suspend new EU border system in peak holiday period as planes leave half full

Airlines and airports have called for the new EU biometric border check system to be suspended during the peak summer holiday period, warning that some flights are leaving half full and passengers are struggling in queues of up to five hours. In a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission , airlines and airports asked for an option to suspend checks under the system over fears the situation will get much worse during the busy summer season. “We have reached a critical point,” said the industry groups ACI Europe , which represents airports, and Airlines 4 Europe and the International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines. “Passengers have already been forced to queue for extended periods outside terminal buildings and on exposed aprons because border control facilities cannot process arrivals quickly enough. “Airlines face half-empty planes at gate closing time, while passengers are stuck in border control queues.” Some planes have had to delay takeoff while waiting for passengers, with the groups saying that queues are reaching up to five hours at peak times, while others have had to leave passengers behind . The groups called on the commission to allow airports to “completely suspend” checks “whenever passenger volumes exceed the operational capacity of border control facilities” during July and August. …