Europe’s airport industry is warning that the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System is already stretching border control to breaking point, with processing times surging and long queues forming at key hubs during peak periods.

Airport operators say the situation will deteriorate sharply in early 2026 unless Brussels and national authorities urgently adjust the rollout, particularly at airports where waves of non EU arrivals land within tight time windows and any staffing or technology failure can trigger cascading disruption.

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New biometric border regime meets a strained airport system

The Schengen Entry/Exit System, known as EES, began its phased launch at air borders on October 12, 2025. The system records the entry and exit of non EU nationals using biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images, replacing manual passport stamps with a centralised digital database.

It is intended to tighten border security, automate checks and reduce the scope for overstays and document fraud.

In practice, early deployment at major airports has exposed how sensitive border operations are to even modest slowdowns. Airports Council International Europe, which represents more than 600 airports in 55 countries, reports that border processing times for third country nationals have increased by up to 70 percent where EES is in use, with peak queues reaching around three hours at some terminals.

These figures are emerging even though only about 10 percent of eligible travellers are currently being registered in the system.

The EES rollout is designed to ramp up in stages over 180 days, with the share of eligible travellers processed rising to 35 percent by January 9, 2026 and ultimately to full coverage by April 10, 2026.

Airport leaders warn that if the system is already straining capacity at low volumes, raising the threshold without correcting operational flaws risks turning local bottlenecks into systemic disruption across the Schengen area’s external air borders.

ACI Europe sounds alarm on queues, safety risks and systemic disruption

In a strongly worded statement from Brussels on December 18, ACI Europe called for an immediate review of the EES rollout by the European Commission, border agency Frontex, IT agency eu LISA and Schengen member states.

The association warned that the combination of extended processing times and peak arrival flows is producing long queues that are “severely impacting” the passenger experience and airport operations.

Olivier Jankovec, director general of ACI Europe, said airports support the security goals of the EES but cannot accept a situation in which the new system translates into “mayhem for travelers and chaos at our airports.”

He cautioned that failing to stabilise the system before the January step up to a 35 percent registration threshold would lead to “much more severe congestion and systemic disruption for airports and airlines” and could involve “serious safety hazards” if crowds build in constrained immigration halls.

The safety dimension is particularly sensitive for airport operators. Prolonged queuing in secure areas can obstruct evacuation routes, overwhelm crowd management plans and complicate the handling of medical incidents.

It also increases the risk of passengers breaching controlled zones in frustration, potentially triggering security alerts. ACI Europe is pressing regulators to recognise these operational realities before the system is expanded to full scale.

Where the pain is being felt: hotspots and peak time pressure

ACI Europe identifies airports in France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal and Spain as being especially affected so far by EES related congestion. At a number of major hubs, border queues for arriving non EU passengers have stretched well beyond usual peak levels, particularly at holiday travel times and banked arrival waves when multiple long haul flights land within minutes of each other.

Reports from Geneva, one of Europe’s key winter sports gateways, describe arrivals being held in queues for up to four hours on some recent peak days as non EU travelers undergo biometric registration for the first time.

Similar accounts of lines snaking through terminal corridors have emerged from airports in Spain and Portugal, including gateways popular with leisure travelers from the United Kingdom and North America.

The risk is greatest where non EU arrivals are heavily concentrated into short time windows, such as late morning transatlantic banks or evening long haul waves out of the Middle East and Africa.

In these scenarios, even a small slowdown in processing per passenger can rapidly outstrip available queuing space and staff capacity, leaving operators few options but to meter flows into the immigration area or, in extreme cases, temporarily suspend EES processing to clear backlogs.

Technology outages, kiosk gaps and staffing shortages drive delays

Airport operators say the queues are not simply the product of passengers learning a new system. ACI Europe attributes much of the disruption to a cluster of operational problems with the EES deployment.

Regular system outages have forced border guards to fall back on manual procedures, while inconsistent configuration between central and national components has undermined the predictability of border operations.

At many airports, self service registration kiosks and automated border control gates are either not yet fully deployed for EES processing or are intermittently unavailable due to technical issues.

This leaves more passengers being channelled into manual “primary inspection” booths where border guards must capture biometric data on desktop terminals, significantly extending processing times for each new registrant.

Compounding the technology constraints is a chronic shortage of border guards at many airports. Several states entered the EES rollout with staffing levels already stretched by post pandemic travel recovery and broader public sector hiring limits.

The added workload of biometric registration and system troubleshooting has magnified those pressures, making it difficult to open all control lanes even when the physical infrastructure exists.

Airports are also critical of the absence of a widely available, effective pre registration app that would allow travelers to complete parts of the EES process before arrival.

While some national pilots exist, ACI Europe argues that a harmonised solution could significantly reduce at the counter handling time, especially for repeat visitors who currently must re navigate the process on dedicated kiosks.

EU institutions defend concept as airports demand flexibility

European Union institutions continue to frame the EES as a necessary upgrade to border management that will ultimately streamline flows once teething problems are resolved.

Legislators note that the system is designed to automate elements of border control, flag overstays more efficiently and support law enforcement while, in principle, reducing average queuing times in the long term.

Officials in Brussels point out that the 180 day phased rollout was specifically created to avoid a “big bang” launch in all member states at once and to allow authorities to pause or slow deployment if waiting times or technical issues become unmanageable.

They also stress that member states retain discretion over when and how they reach each rollout threshold, within the framework of the agreed calendar.

Airport operators, however, argue that the current safeguards are not being used aggressively enough. ACI Europe is calling for “additional flexibility” in how the thresholds are applied, including the possibility of capping the registration proportion below 35 percent at particularly constrained airports until outages, configuration issues and staffing gaps are resolved.

Industry leaders want clear, jointly agreed triggers for when EES processing can be temporarily scaled back without exposing border authorities or airlines to legal risk.

Non EU travelers warned to expect queues and missed connections

For travelers from the United States, United Kingdom and other non EU countries exempt from Schengen visas, the early months of EES have introduced a new variable into trip planning.

At airports where the system is active, first time registrants must scan their passports, provide fingerprints and have their facial image captured, either at a kiosk or directly at the border booth.

While the registration will simplify subsequent entries for up to three years, the initial visit can add several minutes per passenger, multiplied across planeloads of long haul arrivals.

Travel media and consumer advocates report cases of passengers missing onward connections because of extended queues at immigration, especially where connection windows were under two hours and involved a terminal change or security rescreening.

Airlines and travel agents are advising non EU customers to allow longer connection times when routing via Schengen hubs that have already activated EES, and to avoid separate ticket itineraries that would leave them unprotected if they misconnect.

They also recommend that travelers monitor airport and airline communications in the days before departure, as some hubs have chosen to temporarily suspend or limit EES use during peak holiday periods to ease congestion.

What airports want changed before the next phase

With the next major increase in EES registration thresholds looming in January, ACI Europe is pressing policymakers to implement a series of short term fixes to avoid a repeat of December’s scenes on a larger scale.

Top of the list is stabilising the central system to eliminate frequent outages and synchronising national configurations so that border guards have a consistent, reliable user experience across workstations and shifts.

Airport operators are also pushing for accelerated deployment and testing of self service kiosks and automated gates specifically configured for EES workflows, arguing that robust, well designed front end hardware is essential to achieve the promised automation benefits. They want clear, EU level standards for minimum kiosk to passenger ratios and staffing coverage at major hubs, tied to passenger volume forecasts.

On the passenger side, the industry is urging the rapid development and roll out of a common pre registration tool that would allow travelers to submit biographical data and potentially pre enrol certain biometrics before their trip. While final verification would still take place at the border, airports believe such a tool could meaningfully reduce on site processing time, particularly for frequent visitors and tour groups.

FAQ

Q1. What is the EU Entry/Exit System and who does it apply to?
The Entry/Exit System is an EU wide border control database that records the entry and exit of non EU nationals making short stays in the Schengen area. It applies to visa exempt travelers, such as those from the United States and United Kingdom, as well as holders of short stay Schengen visas, when they cross the external Schengen border.

Q2. Why are airports reporting longer queues if the system is meant to speed things up?
In the early phase, border guards must capture new biometric data for millions of first time registrants, using systems that are still being fine tuned. Technical outages, limited availability of kiosks and gates, and border guard shortages mean the theoretical efficiencies of automation have not yet materialised at many airports, leading to processing times that are up to 70 percent longer for affected passengers.

Q3. Which countries and airports are currently seeing the most disruption?
Airport operators say the most significant delays are being recorded at major hubs in France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Portugal and Spain, as well as at Geneva in Switzerland. These airports handle high volumes of non EU arrivals in concentrated time banks, so any additional processing time or technical failure quickly produces long queues at passport control.

Q4. How long can I realistically expect to wait at passport control where EES is active?
Typical waits remain under an hour at many airports, but ACI Europe reports peak queues of up to three hours at the busiest times, with isolated reports of even longer waits at some hubs. Wait times depend on when you land, how many non EU flights arrive at the same time, how many lanes are staffed and whether the EES system and kiosks are working smoothly on the day.

Q5. What happens if I miss my connecting flight because of EES related border delays?
If your entire journey is on a single ticket, the operating airline is usually responsible for rebooking you on the next available flight and providing care such as meals and accommodation where required under EU passenger rights rules. If you booked separate tickets, you are generally treated as a no show on the onward leg and may have to buy a new ticket, so travelers are being advised to avoid tight self connected itineraries through Schengen hubs during the rollout.

Q6. Are there any airports turning off or limiting EES to manage congestion?
Some airports and national authorities have temporarily reduced the share of passengers being processed through EES, or in limited cases suspended its use during extreme peaks, in order to clear backlogs and stabilise passenger flows. ACI Europe is calling for clearer, EU endorsed flexibility so that local operators can adjust use of the system without legal ambiguity when safety or operational integrity is at risk.

Q7. Will queues stay this bad once most travelers are enrolled?
Industry experts expect queuing pressure to ease once the bulk of regular visitors have completed their initial biometric registration and as border guards become more familiar with the system. However, ACI Europe stresses that this outcome depends on fixing current outages, hardware gaps and staffing shortfalls. Without those corrections, airports fear the problems could persist or recur at every major peak season.

Q8. Is there anything travelers can do in advance to speed up the process?
For now, options are limited because a fully harmonised pre registration app has not yet been rolled out across the Schengen area. Travelers can help by having passports ready, removing hats and sunglasses before reaching the kiosk or booth, following staff instructions closely and allowing extra time for connections so they are not under extreme pressure if queues are longer than expected.

Q9. When will the Entry/Exit System be fully operational at EU airports?
The current implementation calendar foresees a gradual ramp up at air borders over a 180 day period from October 12, 2025, with registration thresholds rising from 10 percent of eligible travelers initially to 35 percent by January 9, 2026 and then towards full coverage. The goal is for EES to be effectively operational across Schengen external borders by April 10, 2026, although the pace may vary by country and airport.

Q10. What changes are airports asking EU institutions to make right now?
ACI Europe is urging the European Commission, eu LISA, Frontex and member states to stabilise the core IT system, fully configure and deploy self service kiosks and automated gates, boost border guard staffing, and provide legal flexibility to pause or slow EES use where safety or severe congestion is at stake. Airports also want a fast tracked, user friendly pre registration solution so that more of the data capture can be shifted away from the border checkpoint itself.