British holidaymakers have been warned they could face queues of up to five hours at European airport border controls this summer, with aviation chiefs cautioning that terminals risk grinding to a "complete standstill". The disruption is being blamed on the EU's new Entry-Exit System (EES), which requires non-EU visitors to provide biometric data, and industry bodies are urgently calling for the scheme to be paused until September to cope with an anticipated surge in passengers.

The European aviation sector body ACI has written an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, warning that the EES is "creating severe operational consequences" and placing border authorities, airports and airlines under "unsustainable pressure". Since its rollout in April, following several delays, waiting times have reportedly reached up to five hours during peak periods, causing some passengers to miss flights, with an extra 40 million travellers expected this summer. The system takes fingerprints and photographs of non-EU citizens on entry and rechecks these on departure; one proposed remedy is temporarily reverting to standard Schengen checks, including passport stamping.