Lisbon, April 30, 2026 (Lusa) – Ryanair appealed to the Portuguese government on Thursday to suspend the implementation of the new European Entry/Exit System (EES) until September, warning of long airport queues during the summer peak.
In a statement, the Irish airline said that the measure should be delayed to prevent passengers, many of whom travel on holiday with children, from facing "unnecessary" and prolonged delays at passport control in Portuguese airports.
The company says that Portuguese authorities have known for over three years that the European control system would become fully operational on 10 April 2026. However, they failed to ensure sufficient staffing, system preparation, or kiosks.
According to Ryanair, waiting times at passport control exceed one to two hours at Faro, Funchal, and Porto airports due to staff shortages and system failures, causing some passengers to miss flights.
The carrier compared the situation to other European countries, citing Greece, where the government has reportedly suspended the new system until September to manage queues during the busiest summer traffic period.
Ryanair said that it has written to the governments of the 29 countries covered by the system, including Portugal’s interior minister, Luís Neves. The airline urged them to suspend the application until September and guarantee smooth airport operations during the summer.
"Governments across Europe are trying to implement a poorly prepared IT system in the middle of the busiest travel season of the year, and passengers are paying the price, forced to endure hours of waiting in passport control queues and, in some cases, missing flights," said Ryanair's Chief Operations Officer, Neal McMahon.
"The solution is simple and is provided for in European Union legislation, under Regulation EU 2025/1534: governments should suspend the system until September, once the peak summer travel season has slowed down, just as Greece has done. This would allow passengers, many of whom travel with young families, a smoother airport experience for their summer holidays," McMahon added.
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