14 November 2022: The trade associations representing airlines from across the globe that are operating in Europe, shared their concerns with the EU institutions about the effective start of the operations of the Entry/Exit System (EES) to register entry and exit data and refusal of entry data of third-country nationals crossing the external borders of the Member States and determining the conditions for access to the EES for law enforcement purposes, established in Regulations (EU) 2017/2226 and (EU) 2017/2225.

While reiterating support for the objectives of the above-mentioned Regulations, the industry welcomes the latest steps taken by the EU to delay the entry into operation (EiO) while starting with a 'progressive approach' that remains to be fully clarified and agreed upon with all stakeholders, including the industry.

In all these efforts, the key priority should be to set the right starting date for the scheme’s introduction, design a practical progressive approach that alleviates the operational burden of EES, and address the root causes of the existing issues, which in some cases have triggered the previous postponements.

Such issues should be considered for the whole dimension of EES, covering the pre-departure and on-arrival checks in the traveller’s journey. This should ensure that EES implementation does not risk Schengen connectivity, hamper the passenger experience, and hinder or disrupt industry operations.

This is even more relevant since the aviation ecosystem is still heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent staff shortages.

The industry puts forward two key recommendations:

1. A low season for the implementation remains critical (November to March).

2. A progressive start into operations that should comprise a clear and defined plan that includes detailed criteria for how it will operate across Schengen.

The letter sent is available for members to download from the top of this page.