Travellers heading to Europe should prepare for potentially longer queues at passport control as temporary safety measures at border crossings end on 6 September 2026. Over the summer, European Union member states were allowed to temporarily suspend collecting biometric data, such as fingerprints and facial scans, whenever passport control areas became overwhelmed by heavy passenger traffic.
The Entry/Exit System (EES) became fully operational across participating European borders in April 2026 after a phased rollout that began in October 2025. While a European Commission spokesperson stated that the system generally worked well during the summer, the upcoming expiration of the emergency flexibility rules means airports and border authorities will no longer be able to skip biometric collection simply to ease congestion.
Travel industry organizations warn that removing these emergency flexibilities could lead to severe delays. Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that standard passport checks have lengthened from 20–25 seconds to about 90 seconds under the EES. A study by the Financial Times and Qsensor revealed that average wait times at major hubs like Frankfurt reached 120 minutes in July, up from 60 minutes a year earlier, while Munich and Amsterdam also saw significant increases.
Industry representatives, including IATA and UK trade association ABTA, are urging the European Union to extend the emergency rules through the winter season until automated kiosks and staffing levels can reliably handle peak travel periods. In the meantime, travel experts advise passengers to build extra buffer time into their journeys and avoid tight flight connections when passing through European border controls.