Ryanair issues urgent passport changes warning that could make you miss your flight
Ryanair has issued a fresh warning to millions of passengers over passport changes that could lead to summer holiday delays.
While the UK is very much living in its own 2026 heatwave era, millions of Brits will be travelling overseas despite the warm temperatures at home with the school holidays only just around the corner.
But today (July 2), the budget Irish airline has warned about delays due to the roll out of the European Union's Entry / Exit System, or EES.
With journeys delayed and Ryanair customers already missing their flights, Ryanair is demanding a pause on the EES or risk further issues.
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It's a problem that easyJet has also experienced, with passengers left behind.
The airline is now advising passengers of the increased queues at passport control when travelling to non-Schengen Area destinations - such as back to the United Kingdom - and to arrive earlier at the airport.
For full awareness, the Schengen Area is Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
As it stands, checks may require scanning passports, providing fingerprints and having a facial image taken - something Ryanair says 'the current infrastructure is NOT ready to manage' when it comes to high passenger numbers in peak season.
Ryanair blames insufficient staff, kiosks and system readiness across European airports.
It reports that airports includings Tenerife South, Palma, Alicante, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Krakow and Paris Beauvais are experiencing major disruptions, with further congestion expected as we enter the busiest weeks of summer.
Ryanair’s Chief Operations Officer, Neal McMahon said: "As schools break up and Europe enters the busiest travel period of the year, it is clear that EES is still not ready for peak summer volumes.
"Passengers and families should not be used as guinea pigs for a half-baked passport control system that risks creating long queues, missed flights and unnecessary stress at airports this summer.
"it is as simple as postponing EES until September, as other EU countries like Greece have already done.
"Ryanair calls on European Governments once again to delay the implementation to protect passengers, families and airport operations during the school holiday rush, instead of forcing holidaymakers to endure needless passport control chaos.”
In June, Andrew Knight, who runs Sanasty Car Hire at Tenerife airport, told the BBC that some passengers get through 'in about 20 minutes', while 'other people are experiencing one and a half, two-hour delays waiting to use the systems'.
Knight said that even 'a few times the systems have gone down', calling it 'hit and miss'.
The EES website states that fingerprints and face scans are recorded the first time you use the EES system and will remain on the system for future trips.
It adds that on future occasions: "The passport control officers will only verify your fingerprints and photo, which will take less time. In rare cases, it may be necessary to collect and record your data again."
The EES system became fully operational on 10 April.
Tom Earnshaw