Ryanair calls on France to suspend EES until September over airport queue chaos

The airline says passengers are missing flights due to inadequate staffing and system outages at French airports

Europe's biggest airline, Ryanair, is calling on the French government to suspend the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) until September to prevent passengers and families from suffering long passport control queues during the peak summer travel season.

According to an article published on the Ryanair website on April 30, 2026, the airline says that despite having over three years to prepare for the system becoming fully operational on April 10, 2026, French authorities have failed to ensure adequate staffing, system readiness, or kiosks are in place.

As a result, passengers are suffering long passport control queues and, in some cases, missing their flights. Queue times are already exceeding one to two hours at Beauvais, Marseille, and Nantes airports, where staff shortages and system outages continue to cause disruption.

Ryanair writes to 29 governments

The airline has written to governments across all 29 EES countries, including French Minister Laurent Nunez, urging them to suspend the system until September, following the example set by Greece, which has already paused enforcement to manage peak summer queues.

Neal McMahon, Ryanair's Chief Operations Officer, said:

"Govts across Europe are attempting to roll out a half-baked IT system in the middle of the busiest travel season of the year, and passengers are paying the price, being forced to endure hours-long passport control queues and in some cases, missing flights."

"The solution is simple and already provided for under EU law (EU Reg. 2025/1534) – Govts should suspend EES until September when the peak summer travel season has subsided, just as Greece has done. This would allow passengers – many of whom are traveling with young families – a smoother airport experience for their summer holidays,” he added.

Greece adopts a different approach

Ryanair notes that other EU countries are taking a more pragmatic approach. Greece has suspended the EES until September to manage queues during the busy summer period, and the airline is urging France and other participating countries to follow suit.