EU doubles down on 'failed' border scheme despite warnings of a £3.7billion hit to British tourism

The EU's new Entry/Exit System was finally rolled out in full force this weekend – with no option for pausing the process during busy periods. Since it launched in April, the newfangled technology has caused long airport queues and delays, even resulting in passengers missing flights in some cases.Up until recently, the 29 EU countries operating the system for non-EU nationals had been able to pause checks and ease any pressure.But as of Sunday, September 6, the European Commission has chosen not to grant a formal extension of this flexibility – despite a push from nine member states and public appeals from IATA, ABTA and airport operators to do so. Holiday Extras, a UK travel company, says the EU's decision to allow the EES safeguard to lapse without a fix suggests the border scheme has 'failed' and should be scrapped.Some border points are still not applying full checks in practice, including at the Greek border and Eurotunnel, so travellers are left with unpredictable and non-uniform systems. As of Sunday, September 6, the new Entry/Exit System was finally rolled out in full force – with no option for pausing the process during busy periodsIn May, just a month after the roll-out was completed, a survey by Holiday Extras showed 3.3 per cent of UK holidaymakers had changed their plans because of EES queue times. A further 17.8 per cent admitted they were likely to. When applied to Office for National Statistics data on UK trips abroad, it estimated £1.9billion in British tourist spending was at risk centrally of being pushed away from Schengen destinations in 2026.However, with passengers facing mammoth queues in hotspots such as France, Italy and Spain and no end point to EES disruption, Holiday Extras predicts the upper estimated loss could be even more. The travel company suggests a full year of EES could instead cost the Schengen zone £3.7billion in diverted British spending – much more than the entire modelled cost of disruption first flagged by Holiday Extras back in the spring.Meanwhile, Ryanair's chief operational officer Neal McMahon has described the handling of EES as a 'shambles from start to finish', the Independent reports. He said: 'Airlines, airports and border authorities repeatedly warned Brussels that the rollout was not ready, that it would increase processing times and that it would create excessive queues for passengers.'Those warnings were ignored, with EU citizens the ones delayed and disrupted. Passengers should not be made pay the price for the EU's failed EES rollout.'Mr McMahon said the budget carrier was urging the EU Commission to extend the deadline until April 2027, at least. The system has created long airport queues and Holiday Extras estimates a full year of EES could cost the Schengen zone £3.7billion in diverted British spendingHowever, EU Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert announced in a press briefing last week that 'additional support' was ready for the 'few member states' that needed it.He said: 'We have offered additional help to the member states concerned and asked them to further intensify the operational preparedness, including the necessary technical, organisational, and communication measures, with a view to ensuring that remaining challenges are fully addressed by the end of the year.' The EU's related ETIAS travel authorisation scheme was also set to launch after EES later this year, but it seems to have been delayed.According to Holiday Extras, the 'last quarter of 2026' launch target line has been removed from the website without a public statement. Matthew Pack, CEO of Holiday Extras, said: 'Since the EU won't say this plainly, we will. These border systems have failed.'ETIAS depended on EES rolling out in good order, and quietly dropping the launch date rather than admitting a delay is a clear, if unspoken, admission that EES hasn't worked. 'At the same time, the EU is waving away every request from governments, airlines and airports for a proper extension of the flexibility that got it through the summer, while border staff quietly keep using it anyway because the alternative is worse queues.'That leaves two EU borders. There's the one in the announcements, where EES runs smoothly and ETIAS is on track. And there's the one on the ground, the one holidaymakers actually queue at, haphazardly enforced by border guards, where everyone knows the truth: nothing here is working as planned.'A system that needs this much quiet improvisation to function isn't ready. The honest response is to say so, roll it back, and rebuild it properly.' Ryanair's chief operational officer Neal McMahon has described the handling of EES as a 'shambles'The new system has caused havoc all summer, and Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has previously warned passengers that the airline 'will not wait for anybody' caught up in lengthy queues. Speaking on The Telegraph's Travel Expert podcast, Mr O'Leary insisted: 'We will not wait for anybody, our priority is those passengers who are at the boarding gate when boarding starts.'If you're not at the boarding gate when we finish boarding, the plane is going without you.'As for what rights and protection passengers might have in such scenarios, Mr O'Leary said: 'You don't have any, which is regrettable but we're not delaying our flights for people who are stuck in passport control queues.'Instead, he urged travellers to be prepared and arrive at the airport early.'They have to show up at the airport earlier, but they have to be at the boarding gate otherwise they're not flying,' he said.The travel boss identified airports including Lisbon, Madrid and Athens as 'particularly bad' for EES queues.Mr O'Leary added: 'There are about 15 airports where there are real problems, two-, three-hour waits at border control which to my mind is unacceptable.'Soon after the EES was fully rolled out, the budget Irish carrier wrote to the governments of all 29 countries and urged them to suspend the EES until September to help manage queues during the peak summer season.Regarding Spain, which has been particularly affected by the system, Ryanair said: 'Despite knowing for over three years that the EES would be fully operational by April 10, 2026, Spanish authorities have failed to ensure adequate staffing, system readiness, or the installation of kiosks.' In Malaga, one British holidaymaker was left stranded in the hub with her daughter after missing her flight due to the long queues.