A move expected to reduce flight delays in Europe. Photo: Shutterstock EUROCONTROL has announced that three of Europe's major airports, Amsterdam Schiphol, Düsseldorf and Malaga-Costa del Sol, have completed full integration of their operational systems with the European Network Management System.
EUROCONTROL notes that sharing information will provide an up-to-date picture of air traffic loads and enable faster and more accurate decision-making.
The main advantages of the move:
-Early identification of congestion and capacity gaps.
-Improving coordination between airports and the European air traffic network.
-Faster and more accurate decision-making in real time.
-Potential reduction of flight delays.
According to EUROCONTROL, the operation of the new system is particularly important in the 2026 summer season, when the volume of flights in Europe is at its peak, and the ability to predict and manage congestion in advance becomes critical for maintaining the continuity of air traffic and reducing delays for passengers.
Since the introduction of new regulations and the implementation of updated border control procedures at entry points to European countries, congestion and queues have been observed in recent months at a number of major airports across the continent. At PassportNews, we have repeatedly reported on long wait times at border controls, resulting from the additional checks and the adaptation of authorities and travelers to the new procedures.
As you may recall, since the biometric entry and exit system (EES) came into effect, there has been strong criticism from the aviation industry.
As published on PassportNews at the beginning of last month, the three main European aviation organizations, the Association of European Airlines (A4E), the Airports Association of Europe (ACI Europe), and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), wrote a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, warning that the new system is causing significant delays in border controls.
European Union Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen. Photo: ShutterstockAccording to the organizations, since the launch of the system, queues of up to five hours have been recorded at some of the entry points into the Schengen area during rush hours, a phenomenon that has affected millions of passengers and caused flight delays, missed connecting flights and heavy congestion at airports. In their letter, the organizations also called for an examination of a temporary halt to the system's implementation and the temporary restoration of normal passport control procedures until the system is stabilized and congestion is reduced.
The organizations warned that the crisis could worsen significantly during the peak months of the summer season, when approximately 40 million additional passengers are expected to pass through European airports compared to the previous months.
According to them, the congestion is not only felt at large airports, but also at small airports in tourist areas, where the rate of passenger handling is failing to keep up with demand. As a result, they claim that in some cases passengers are forced to wait outside the terminals for a long time until they can be admitted for border contro