Airlines have revealed that they are currently very concerned regarding the new booking rules for flights.

These are all set to be introduced soon after the implementation of the European Entry/Exit System.

Among the protesters, Ryanair has taken to be the most vocal, raising significant concerns on the matter.

Entry/Exit System

EES includes the electronic recording, monitoring, and storage of data. This encompasses the time, data, and location of entry and exit of all travelers located throughout the Schengen borders.

As part of this project, airlines are required to confirm the travel eligibility of visitors at least 48 hours before the time of departure.

As a result, airlines have to send inquiries of verification to the EES system, which will help ascertain whether passengers are ready to fly or not.

This will be assessed in terms of an ‘OK’ or ‘NOT OK’ status by the EES.

According to Ryanair, it would not be feasible to account for such a requirement. It added that the deadline is too long.

The relevant authorities of the airline further added that the 48-hour deadline would not leave any room to sell flight tickets at the last minute.

It highlighted just how important they are to the revenues of all airlines and should also be accounted for.

Ryanair

The airline in question further added that the project has been delayed on several occasions.

Consequently, the relevant stakeholders are apprehensive about its effectiveness, saying that it needs to implement better management protocols.

For this reason, Ryanair has requested that before the EES system becomes fully operational, the EU authorities should offer training.

It added that such training should be aimed at airports to allow them to adapt to the new incoming changes.

The airlines further complained that too many new rules were going to be implemented with the EES system, which would have a negative impact on the airlines.

It went on to add that passengers traveling for long stays with the appropriate visa would fall out of the scope of the system.

Thus, the airline would have to take on the responsibility to carry out standard checks for visas, specifically for those who have long-stay visas.

As a result, it pointed out that delays would be caused in the checking process, as well as inconveniences for passengers.

Other challenges

According to Ryanair, there are various other challenges associated with the implementation of the new system.

This includes the existence of unclear rules on how to deal with system outages. It also stressed that there has been no instruction on what airlines are supposed to do to board passengers in cases where they are unable to receive ‘board’ or ‘no board’ messages.

Ryanair believes that this is far from an ideal arrangement. It believes that the EU should focus on developing electronic systems to improve efficiency rather than detract from it.

Due to a couple of issues, the EES has been delayed for the last couple of years. However, the launch date has now been revised once again.