ACI EUROPE President urges action on EES disruption and calls for competitiveness-focused Aviation Strategy
Speaking at the 36th ACI EUROPE Annual Congress & General Assembly in Prague, ACI EUROPE President and Fraport CEO Stefan Schulte called on the European Commission to place aviation at the heart of Europe’s competitiveness agenda, while warning that disruption caused by the Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES) is set to become unsustainable over the peak summer months.
Schulte described EES as the most immediate operational challenge facing airports across Europe, calling for greater flexibility for border authorities to suspend the system whenever necessary to prevent excessive queues and operational disruption.
‘Right now, EES is what keeps me and many other airport CEOs across Europe awake at night,’ Schulte noted in a high-level discussion with Magda Kopczyńska, Director General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission.
‘Passengers are queueing for hours at peak traffic times, and I just do not know how we will be able to cope in the coming weeks with the expected increase in traffic. We urgently need full flexibility for border control authorities to suspend the EES whenever needed to avoid further chaos… This is about showing respect and decency for those who chose to travel to the EU, and safeguarding our reputation as a welcoming and efficient destination.’
Looking ahead to the European Commission’s forthcoming Aviation Strategy, Schulte argued that aviation policy must move beyond focusing solely on environmental impacts and instead recognise the sector’s essential role in supporting Europe’s competitiveness, regional cohesion and strategic autonomy. He outlined five priorities for the new strategy:
- preserving and making better use of airport capacity through slot reform,
- maintaining a stable regulatory framework that enables airports to deliver €360 billion of planned infrastructure investment,
- safeguarding regional connectivity through appropriate State aid rules,
- supporting innovation through continued investment in SESAR, security technologies and biometrics,
- accelerating competitive decarbonisation with stronger incentives for Sustainable Aviation Fuels and airport energy infrastructure.
The forthcoming Aviation Strategy represents a critical opportunity to ensure European aviation can continue investing, innovating and delivering the connectivity that underpins economic growth across the continent.
Read the full press release:
• PRESS RELEASE: ACI EUROPE President warns of EES chaos and calls for competitiveness-focused Aviation Strategy
