Man, bro, what did I find out today! European airlines and airports have jumped like they're on fire and are demanding the suspension of this biometric system, EES, right in the middle of summer season. You know, the one with fingerprints and photos for foreigners. And it's no joke: passengers are waiting in queues of up to five hours, and planes are taking off half empty because people are stuck at security. No joke!
Listen up, the letter is signed by ACI Europe (the airport guys), Airlines for Europe, and IATA, and they send it directly to Ursula von der Leyen. They say: "We've reached a critical point." My buddies at the terrace, Fane and Mitică, would say "they're taking us for fools." It's clear, the system can't handle it. There are people waiting for hours outside, on the tarmac, and missing their flights. When it comes to money, airlines are recording losses. A ticket to Cluj costs as much as a monthly payment on my BMW, and just like that, the money goes down the drain.
The organizations are asking to be able to suspend biometric checks when there's heavy congestion, in July and August. They say it's "unsustainable pressure." And they're right. The head of Rome's airports said clearly: they'll stop the system because otherwise it's "disaster." The Greeks have already suspended it for Brits until September. The French did the same at the port of Dover. Oh, what do you know? When you need predictability, the EU comes with bureaucracy.
But wait, it gets worse. The letter also says that some travelers are reconsidering their vacation in Europe because of the queues. That means us Romanians, who pride ourselves on "we're the best, the world steals from us," are losing tourists because we can't process people. And it's not just about summer: they want flexibility to remain after September, but only in exceptional cases. Well, isn't this exceptional now?
According to estimates, in July and August there will be 40 million more passengers than in previous months. Forty million! You get it? And those in Brussels are acting like it's raining. Me, with Mioara and the kids, when we go on vacation to Turkey, we stand in line like for bread in '89. And now, if some foreigner wants to come to Untold in Cluj or Neversea in Constanța, they'll stand five hours at security. Bravo, EU, you've screwed us over!
I'm signing the request too, to be serious. Until they put in automated kiosks and enough staff, don't feed us stories. Who pays? Us, the suckers, with our time and nerves. I'm going to tell Brian that maybe next year we'll go on vacation by car, not by plane. That way, at least we know how long we'll wait at the border.
