\n<\/p>\n
The boss of Berlin Airport has said non-EU nationals arriving in the German capital are having to queue for up to two hours under a new digital border system, and warned the situation is “not bearable over the summer”.<\/b><\/p>\n
Aletta von Massenbach told the BBC that at one terminal in Berlin, where Ryanair and Wizz Air operate, waiting times can run between “an hour to two hours”.<\/p>\n
Under the EU’s new Entry-Exit System (EES) travellers from outside the bloc must register biometric information when entering most European countries, which is checked when they leave.<\/p>\n
Airports and airlines say the system is not working. The European Commission (EC) says it is willing to offer more support.<\/p>\n
EES is meant to modernise the EU’s system of border control, making it more secure and eventually making travel smoother.<\/p>\n
It has been fully operational since April. <\/p>\n
While the system has worked fine in some places, there have been regular reports of long waits at passport control, especially at peak times.<\/p>\n
Some passengers say they have missed flights home because they’ve been held up in queues.<\/p>\n
Von Massenbach said one issue was that EU countries used different systems.<\/p>\n
“There are so many sub-systems for each and every member state,” she told the BBC’s Today programme. “We see that the complexity doesn’t really support smooth processing at the border.”<\/p>\n
Technology issues have prevented EES from being used in the UK at the Port of Dover where French border checks take place.<\/p>\n
A new processing area has 84 kiosks to record fingerprints and photographs but currently is not being used because the technology for the kiosks – the responsibility of the French authorities \u2013 cannot be activated.<\/p>\n
Port of Dover chief executive, Doug Bannister, told MPs on Thursday “time is rapidly running out” to fix it.<\/p>\n
“We are rapidly heading towards the start of the critical summer period and are yet to receive the assurances we need to avoid what has the potential to be a very challenging six weeks,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n