Ryanair has warned it could redirect capacity away from Malta if long delays at airport border control aren’t resolved ahead of the busy summer season.Speaking to Times of Malta, CEO of Ryanair’s Malta subsidiary Malta Air, David O’Brien said he has written to Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri seeking assurances that border checks will be fully staffed.“If we find ourselves with significant congestion and delay, we’d have to redirect capacity away from Malta to other destinations and that’s not something we’d like to do,” he said.Passengers are currently facing waits of up to 40 minutes at border control due to the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES), which affects non-EU travellers, particularly those from the UK, Malta’s largest tourism market.One traveller told Times of Malta they were left waiting on a plane bus for 20 minutes due to congestion at passport control.O’Brien warned the system could create bigger problems in peak summer:“Europe is utterly unprepared in a general sense… We hope Malta is prepared. We haven’t reached summer peak yet.”Executive chairman of national airline KM Malta, David Curmi, also flagged the issue, saying delays could have financial consequences for airlines.“We are unable to wait for passengers to board our aircraft,” he said. “Passenger compensation regulations state that we have to compensate all passengers, including those who arrive late because of this system.”Both Ryanair and KM Malta have backed calls to temporarily suspend the system during peak summer months.CEO of Malta International Airport, Alan Borg, said the airport understands passenger frustration and is working with authorities to ease pressure, including adding more immigration desks and improving passenger flow.“It is what it is. We need to find ways to improve the processing time over the summer period,” he said.Tourism Minister Ian Borg confirmed ongoing talks with EU partners and the UK, but said the government is not currently considering delaying the system’s rollout.Meanwhile, Camilleri said resources are already at full capacity, adding Malta is “doing everything” possible to reduce waiting times.With summer fast approaching, airlines are warning that unless the situation improves, Malta could risk losing routes to competing Mediterranean destinations.What do you make of this?•