European Airports Warn of EES Queues: What Tourists Should Know This Summer

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Marta Skylar
Aviation News Editor
28.07.2026 02:09

European Airports Warn of EES Queues: What Tourists Should Know This Summer

Lead. European airports are once again warning of the risk of long border queues due to the Entry/Exit System, or EES. On June 23, 2026, ACI Europe, the association of European airports, stated that during the summer peak, the system is already creating a serious burden on passenger flows and requires greater flexibility. For tourists, this means one simple practical thing: trips to the Schengen area this summer should be planned with more time, especially if it is the first entry after the launch of biometric registration or if the route passes through major hub airports.

This new signal is important not because EES became a surprise. The system was launched gradually from October 12, 2025, and by April 10, 2026, according to the European Commission and the EU Council, it became fully operational at the external borders of the countries using it. The problem is different: full operation coincided with high summer demand, and the first biometric registration for some travelers takes more time than a standard passport check with a stamp. Because of this, even small delays per passenger can turn into large queues during peak arrival and departure hours.

What Happened

At the annual ACI Europe congress in Prague, the association's president and head of Fraport, Stefan Schulte, stated that the impact of EES on airport operations is becoming difficult to manage. According to his assessment, passengers are already standing in queues for hours during peak periods, and even higher summer traffic is ahead. ACI Europe calls on EU authorities and national border services to have the full ability to temporarily suspend certain EES procedures where queues become excessive, to avoid chaos and maintain normal passenger movement.

This does not mean that the EU is abandoning EES or that the system has been canceled. On the contrary, the official position of the European Commission remains: EES is part of the modernization of the Schengen area's external border, designed to better record entries and exits, detect overstays and strengthen security. But the tourism industry insists that a pragmatic operating mode is needed in the summer season: if the system creates disproportionate delays at a specific checkpoint, the passenger flow cannot simply be left to accumulate.

What is EES and Who Does it Affect

The Entry/Exit System is a digital registration system for entries and exits for citizens of countries that are not part of the EU and the Schengen associated four. It applies to short-term trips to the Schengen area countries for up to 90 days within any 180-day period. The EES usage zone includes EU countries applying Schengen rules, as well as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, and Liechtenstein; meanwhile, Cyprus and Ireland have a separate status and are not part of this system in the same mode.

During the first crossing of the external border after the full launch of EES, the traveler must provide passport data, a facial image, and fingerprints. The data is recorded in a digital file along with the date and place of entry or exit. For repeat trips, control should be faster, as the officer primarily needs to check an already created record, rather than conducting a full primary registration from scratch. It is the first registration that is the most sensitive part of the process for queues.

For Ukrainian tourists, the logic is the same as for other third-country nationals traveling to the Schengen area for a short term. Even if the trip is visa-free, the border procedure may take more time than before. EES does not replace the requirement to have a valid biometric passport, proof of the purpose of the trip, bookings, financial means, or insurance, if these documents are requested at the border. The system only changes the way the border crossing is recorded.

Why Queues Occur

The main reason is the difference between the theoretical speed of digital control and the actual operation of the airport during peak times. If a passenger is already registered, EES should speed up the check. But when flights from many countries arrive simultaneously, and a significant portion of passengers undergo their first biometric registration, the load on passport control booths, self-service kiosks, and staff increases sharply.

Additional complexity is created by the uneven implementation. Some airports have more kiosks, better flow separation, and sufficient staff, while others face technical glitches, narrow corridors, or a shortage of border guards during peak hours. Therefore, the experience of travelers can differ significantly even within one country. On some routes, a passenger passes control relatively quickly, while on another route, they may experience a delay that puts a connection at risk.

According to industry sources and European media, the most sensitive areas remain large hubs and popular tourist destinations, particularly airports in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and Greece. This is where intense transatlantic arrivals, mass holiday flights, cruise flows, and short connections combine in the summer season. If you plan a route through Frankfurt Airport, Lisbon, Madrid, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Rome Fiumicino, or Amsterdam Schiphol, it is worth checking not only the schedule but also a realistic time for completing formalities.

What May Change This Summer

The key issue now is not the formal status of EES, but the flexibility of its application during peak loads. According to information cited by British and European publications, in exceptional cases, national authorities may temporarily suspend the collection of biometric data at specific checkpoints if queues become excessive. This possibility is viewed as a safety valve for the summer season, rather than a permanent relaxation of rules.

For the passenger, this creates a certain uncertainty. In one airport on the day of your trip, the procedure may be fully operational, in another—partially, and in a third—with additional flow organization. That is why you should not build a route on the assumption that control will be fast or that biometrics will be temporarily not collected. A safer strategy is to assume that the first registration may take additional time, and specific relaxations, if they occur, will only reduce the risk.

How This Affects Tourists

The biggest risk for tourists is short connections between an international arrival and the next flight. If you arrive in the Schengen area from a country outside of it, and then fly a domestic flight to another European city, the crossing of the external border occurs exactly at the first airport of arrival. An EES queue can consume the time that previously seemed sufficient for moving between terminals.

The second risk is confusion between passport control and standard security. EES concerns border registration, not aviation security screening of carry-on luggage. That is, even if security is well-organized at the airport, passport control may still be a bottleneck. Conversely, fast border control does not guarantee that there will be no delay at baggage check, registration, or boarding.

The third risk is the change in the usual assessment of minimum connection time. Previously, a two-hour connection at a large European hub might have seemed acceptable if the flights were on one ticket and baggage went to the final destination. In the summer of 2026, for the first entry into the Schengen area through a busy airport, such a margin may prove too tight. This especially applies to families with children, elderly travelers, passengers with non-European passports, and those who have separate tickets for different segments.

Practical Tips Before the Trip

  • Allow more time for connections. For the first entry into the Schengen area in summer, it is better to choose longer connections rather than minimum allowable options.
  • Check flight status before leaving for the airport. For large hubs, it is useful to look at online boards, for example for Frankfurt, Paris CDG, Madrid, Amsterdam, or Rome Fiumicino.
  • Keep documents handy. Passport, accommodation bookings, return ticket, insurance, and itinerary confirmation should be accessible without a long search in the phone or luggage.
  • Do not plan important events immediately after arrival. If you have a cruise, wedding, medical appointment, or paid excursion, it is better to have a time buffer.
  • Be cautious with separate tickets. If the first flight is delayed due to a border queue, the second airline on a separate booking may not be obligated to rebook you on another flight for free.
  • Follow notifications from airports and airlines. EES rules are EU-wide, but the organization of queues and temporary measures depend on the specific checkpoint.

What This Means for the Tourism Market

For tour operators, airlines, and hotels, EES is becoming not just a border issue, but a factor in product planning. If travelers begin to fear short connections or unpredictable queues, demand for direct flights, longer connections, a night before a cruise in the city of departure, and flexible fares increases. Tourism companies will have to explain more clearly to clients exactly where they cross the external Schengen border and how much time should be left for formalities.

Airports, in turn, receive a reputational challenge. Europe competes for tourists with the Middle East, Asia, and North America, where large hubs actively invest in fast transit processes. If the first experience of arriving in Europe is associated with a multi-hour queue, it affects not only a specific flight, but the perception of the destination overall. This is why ACI Europe links the discussion about EES with the broader topic of competitiveness of European aviation and tourism.

Conclusion

EES is not canceled and is not a temporary experiment: it is the new basic infrastructure of the Schengen border. But its first full summer is proving more difficult than travelers and part of the industry expected. The smartest behavior for a tourist in 2026 is not to panic, but also not to plan a trip based on old time templates. Choose realistic connections, check flight status, prepare documents in advance, and leave a time margin for the first entry into the Schengen area. In a season where European airports themselves warn of the risk of overload, this margin can be the difference between a calm connection and a missed flight.