New U.S. Customs Rules Slow Major Hubs as Airlines See Dip

Major carriers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Lufthansa are contending with softer international traffic into the United States as tighter customs and new biometric requirements add time, complexity and uncertainty for travelers at key hubs such as New York JFK, Los Angeles and Miami.

Stricter Customs and Biometrics Reshape the U.S. Arrival Experience

Publicly available policy documents and legal notices indicate that the United States is moving toward a far more data intensive border regime. Over the past several years, Customs and Border Protection has expanded use of facial comparison technology at all international airports and is now implementing rules that allow biometric collection from virtually all non U.S. citizens on both entry and exit.

A final rule published in late 2025 authorizes broad collection of facial images and other biometrics from non citizens departing and arriving by air, sea and land, removing earlier limits on which airports and which age groups could be included. Legal and immigration analyses describe this as a significant tightening of border controls, with greater scrutiny on visa compliance and overstays and a more comprehensive entry exit tracking system.

While many elements of digital screening were already in place, the shift toward mandatory biometric exit and expanded device inspections has increased the amount of time some travelers spend under customs control, particularly during peak hours at major gateways like JFK, LAX and Miami International Airport. Travel advisories from industry groups now routinely urge non U.S. citizens to build in additional time for customs and secondary screening when planning itineraries through these hubs.

In parallel, government performance reports highlight efforts to raise the share of passengers who are biometrically confirmed on departure, further embedding these checks into the standard travel experience. For passengers accustomed to pre pandemic queues, the combination of higher volumes and more intensive inspection tools is creating a perceptible shift in how long it can take to clear the border.

Airlines Report Softer Demand and Operational Pressures

American Airlines, Delta, United and Lufthansa have all flagged a more challenging international environment into the United States, with earnings disclosures and analyst commentary pointing to a mix of weaker discretionary demand and growing concern about airport bottlenecks. While none of the carriers attributes traffic softness solely to customs policies, investor presentations and route updates show modest trimming of some transatlantic and Latin American frequencies into congestion prone hubs.

Industry reporting suggests that business travelers in particular are sensitive to the prospect of multi hour lines at immigration, unpredictable secondary inspections and tighter rules on what can be carried on electronic devices. When combined with airline schedule disruptions and wider geopolitical uncertainty, the risk of extended customs processing can make alternative routings via Canada, Europe or the Middle East more attractive for some passengers.

Operationally, carriers are also grappling with knock on effects when large arrival banks collide with constrained customs capacity. If hundreds of passengers disembark multiple widebody flights into the same terminal and inspection lines slow, aircraft turns can lengthen, onward connections may be missed and crews can bump up against duty time limits. Airline performance data and traveler reports from JFK and Miami point to cases where arrival congestion has rippled through evening departure waves.

To manage the impact, airlines are adjusting block times, encouraging use of trusted traveler programs for eligible passengers and in some cases shifting capacity to hubs where customs flows have historically been smoother. However, as biometric exit becomes more widespread across all U.S. airports, carriers have limited scope to fully avoid the added processing layers that are now built into the system.

What Is Changing for Travelers at JFK, LAX and Miami

For passengers, the most visible changes at airports like JFK, LAX and Miami are more cameras, more kiosks and occasionally longer queues. Simplified Arrival, the facial comparison process deployed at international airports, replaces many manual passport inspections with automated photo capture. The new rules extend similar biometric expectations to departure gates, where cameras can verify a traveler’s identity against government records before boarding.

Non U.S. citizens in particular can expect more consistent biometric checks when entering and leaving the country. Legal summaries of the new regulations highlight that prior exemptions for certain categories and age groups are being narrowed or removed, meaning that even infrequent visitors may now be photographed on both arrival and exit. Travelers connecting through U.S. hubs on their way to third countries may find that their transit still involves full customs inspection, baggage recheck and a new security screening before continuing.

Another area drawing attention is the search of electronic devices at the border. Civil liberties coverage and technology reporting note that CBP has recently updated its directives and has been conducting a record number of device searches, covering smartphones, laptops and even wearable devices and external drives. Although only a small share of overall travelers are affected, the possibility of detailed device inspection adds a layer of uncertainty to trips for some visitors.

Wait times continue to vary widely by airport and time of day. Data cited in travel industry coverage shows that JFK has experienced some of the longest passport control queues during peak arrival periods, with reports of waits exceeding two hours at certain times. By contrast, LAX and Miami often keep average waits lower, but can still see significant surges during seasonal peaks or when staffing is tight.

How to Prepare for the New Airport Restrictions

Travel experts and consumer advocates are increasingly advising passengers to treat customs and immigration as a key planning factor, not an afterthought. The most consistent recommendation is to allow more time for international arrivals into U.S. hubs, particularly when connecting onward to domestic flights. Itineraries that once felt comfortable with 90 minute layovers may now be tight if customs halls are crowded and security lines are long.

Publicly available guidance from Customs and Border Protection emphasizes that travelers should have documents ready, remove any coverings obscuring their face for biometric capture and follow posted instructions in inspection areas. For those eligible, enrolling in programs such as Global Entry, NEXUS or Mobile Passport Control can still significantly reduce time in line, although traveler anecdotes suggest that even expedited lanes can back up during peak surges.

Passengers carrying sensitive data on laptops or phones are encouraged by digital rights groups to consider best practices such as minimizing the information stored on devices while traveling, using strong encryption and backing up important files before departure. Because CBP’s search authority at the border is broader than typical domestic standards, many privacy advocates recommend traveling with only what is strictly necessary.

Families and less frequent travelers should be prepared for the psychological impact of more visible surveillance technology, from facial recognition cameras to additional questioning for certain nationalities or travel histories. Clear communication within the group, especially with children or elderly relatives, can help reduce anxiety when moving through customs halls filled with unfamiliar equipment and procedures.

Looking Ahead: A Tighter but More Predictable System

Looking forward, government planning documents and biometric implementation roadmaps suggest that the direction of travel is toward more automation, more data collection and tighter integration between airline systems and border control databases. As biometric exit becomes mandatory nationwide and overstay tracking improves, the hope among policymakers is that the system will eventually become both more secure and more predictable.

For airlines such as American, Delta, United and Lufthansa, the medium term challenge is balancing schedule reliability and customer experience with a regulatory environment that they do not control. Network planners must account for customs bottlenecks when designing bank structures at hubs, while customer service teams field complaints from passengers who miss connections or experience long waits despite leaving plenty of time.

For travelers, the practical message is that U.S. customs procedures at major airports are unlikely to revert to their pre pandemic simplicity. Higher baseline scrutiny, expanded biometric checks and the possibility of device inspection are now embedded features of international trips to and through the United States. With thoughtful planning and realistic expectations, however, passengers can still navigate hubs like JFK, LAX and Miami successfully, even as the rules become tighter and the data collection more pervasive.