EU Ends Border 'Safety Valve' as Airlines Warn of More Delays
The EU's 'safety valve' allowing member states to temporarily suspend parts of the Entry-Exit System (EES) during peak demand expired on Sunday, leaving border authorities without a formal mechanism for the first time since biometric registration became mandatory in April. Ryanair has called on the European Commission to reinstate the pause mechanism until at least April 2027, criticizing the rollout as 'a shambles' and citing summer border delays of two to three hours. Industry bodies including IATA and ACI Europe support digital borders but want flexibility until infrastructure is reliable.
Impact and considerations
With winter travel peaks approaching, the loss of the suspension mechanism could lead to airport congestion and flight delays, impacting business travelers.
Key points
- The EU's 'safety valve' expired on Sunday, removing the formal mechanism for suspending EES checks during peak demand
- Ryanair calls for reinstating the pause mechanism until April 2027, calling the rollout 'a shambles'
- Industry supports digital borders but wants flexibility until infrastructure is reliable
- Summer border delays of 2-3 hours at airports including Krakow, Lisbon, Milan, and Rome
- European Commission defends security record: 160 million registrations and 50,000 refusals
- Only Sweden and Portugal use pre-registration apps, with uneven deployment
- Nine member states plus Switzerland wrote to Brussels in July seeking to retain the suspension mechanism
- Winter operations depend on how member states handle the loss of an official workaround
Sources and time
- Primary source
- Skift
- Other sources
- 0
- First source publication
- 7 Sept 2026, 22:35
- Page published
- 7 Sept 2026, 23:11
- Last updated
- 7 Sept 2026, 22:35
- Original links
- Skift Feed：EU Ends Border ‘Safety Valve’ as Airlines Warn of More Delays (opens in a new tab)Primary source · en · Published 7 Sept 2026, 22:35