EU border delays 'not bearable' over summer, warns airport boss

Breaking news from the markets: EU border delays 'not bearable' over summer, warns airport bossImage source, Getty ImagesByKaty Austin Transport correspondentPublished8 minutes agoThe boss of Berlin Airport has said non-EU nationals arriving in the German capital are having to queue for up to two hours under a new digital border system, and warned the situation is "not bearable over the summer". Aletta von Massenbach told the that at one terminal in Berlin, where Ryanair and Wizz Air operate, waiting times can run between "an hour to two hours". Under the EU's new Entry-Exit System (EES) travellers from outside the bloc must register biometric information when entering most European countries, which is checked when they leave.

Airports and airlines say the system is not working. The European Commission (EC) says it is willing to offer more support. EES is meant to modernise the EU's system of border control, making it more secure and eventually making travel smoother.

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It has been fully operational since April. While the system has worked fine in some places, there have been regular reports of long waits at passport control, especially at peak times. Some passengers say they have missed flights home because they've been held up in queues.

Von Massenbach said one issue was that EU countries used different systems. "There are so many sub-systems for each and every member state," she told the 's Today programme. "We see that the complexity doesn't really support smooth processing at the border.

"'I'm not going back to Europe'Anne Robinson from Dunbarton has first-hand knowledge of EES and its idiosyncrasies - to the point it has put her off returning to Europe this year. In June, she and her 13 year-old-son Jack missed their flight home from Rome because of the system. It had already presented challenges when they landed in the Italian capital.

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Image source, Anne RobinsonImage caption, Anne Robinson and her son Jack in Rome"We ended up in a queue, I'd say, for about 90 minutes just to get into Rome," she said. "Everyone was kind of surprised and complaining, because we couldn't understand why it was taking so long. "Flying back to the UK, Robinson said they arrived at Rome airport three-and-a-half hours before their scheduled flight.

However, after going through security, they had to wait for their gate number to appear before they could proceed to the EES exit checks and board the plane. "Most of the machines were out of order. In fact, you could see a lot of machines just laying around, not working," she said.

She estimates they queued for up to 90 minutes. "You could see people getting through in front of us, and then sprinting off. "But she says: "By the time we got through, we unfortunately missed the flight.

Financial markets are tracking the development closely as investors assess the likely impact.