Overview
- Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary told Simon Calder's podcast on July 27–28 that the airline will not hold flights for passengers delayed in Entry/Exit System (EES) or passport-control queues and expects travellers to arrive at the gate on time.
- The EU implemented the EES in April 2026 and airports have since reported longer processing times because of broken kiosks, software upload errors and understaffed border posts, which has forced travellers to wait for hours and miss flights at busy hubs.
- Ryanair says it treats border-control delays as an "extraordinary circumstance," which removes normal compensation rights, and coverage reports the airline may charge a fixed missed-departure fee (reported as £100) to rebook passengers.
- Airlines and airport bodies have asked the European Commission for wider powers to suspend or relax checks during peak periods and the Commission has offered only limited, case-by-case flexibility while talks continue.
- Travellers should expect hotspots at airports such as Milan Malpensa, Lisbon, Paris CDG, Frankfurt and Copenhagen, allow extra time, and note that EES requires first-time non‑EU arrivals to register fingerprints and a facial image with records valid for three years or until passport expiry.