The warning was issued by Rafael Schvartzman, Vice President for Europe of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), who identified a "severe risk" of widespread operational disruption and massive loss of connecting flights for passengers.

The source of the instability is the introduction and full implementation of the European Union's new Entry-Exit System (EES), whose automated procedures now cover all citizens of third countries seeking to access the Schengen Area.

Since the full activation of the digital system, airport infrastructure in major tourist destinations—especially in Portugal, Spain, and Italy- has experienced significant delays in passenger processing and a growing number of complaints about missed return or connecting flights.

The new customs management model requires the mandatory collection of biometric data, including fingerprint scanning and facial recognition, right from the moment of entry into European territory. During the IATA Annual General Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Rafael Schvartzman described the projected peak summer traffic scenario as alarming.

"What we are seeing is a real risk of highly challenging waiting times, with expectations in the order of three, four, five or six hours, which is entirely unacceptable," reported the executive, quoted by the British newspaper The Times.

According to the IATA representative, the commercial aviation sector is being instrumentalised and "treated like a political football" rather than prioritising practical logistical reforms.

The official made a direct appeal to European Union Member States to reinforce staffing in police control booths, ensure the full functionality of electronic kiosks and digital doors, and act proactively by temporarily suspending detailed biometric EES checks if queues threaten the operational stability of terminals.

The metrics provided by the industry association expose the technical root of the congestion: before the EES came into effect, the average processing and validation time for a third-country passenger at control booths ranged between 20 and 25 seconds.

With the new requirements for collecting biographical and biometric data, the standard processing time has increased to 90 seconds per individual, which, when combined with failures or slowdowns in computer systems, creates an immediate bottleneck effect on pedestrian flows for disembarking and boarding.

Faced with this situation, airlines have already begun to review their customer recommendation protocols.

The low-cost airline Wizz Air issued a specific directive to passengers in the United Kingdom, urging them to arrive at European airports at least three hours before their scheduled return flight departure time.

Yvonne Moynihan, CEO of Wizz Air UK, confirmed that delays in passport control resulting from the EES have already led to missed flights and missed trips for several customers, arguing that the extended three-hour margin is currently the only prudent approach to safeguard safe boarding until the system is fully stabilised.