EES at the border: what changed in 2026

The short version

According to the European Commission, the Entry/Exit System (EES) became fully operational across all Schengen countries on 10 April 2026, after a progressive start that began on 12 October 2025. It registers non-EU travellers on short stays. In September 2026 the legal power to pause biometric checks because of congestion ended.

Where the check happens

According to the Austrian Interior Ministry, EES applies at the first Schengen entry and the last Schengen exit. If you stay in the transit area during a flight within Schengen and no border check is carried out, your data is not recorded in EES. Whether you can stay airside depends on your route and passport, so ask your airline.

How long registration and queues take

According to an analysis by the Financial Times and Qsensor, reported by Euronews, registration averages about 70 seconds. The average wait at Frankfurt reached about 120 minutes in July 2026, against about 60 a year earlier. Munich reached up to about 60 minutes and the maximum at Amsterdam about 120. These are reported figures, and waits vary by airport and hour.

The congestion pause ended

According to Regulation (EU) 2025/1534, for a limited time after the rollout countries could pause biometric registration at a named crossing for up to six hours when waits were excessive. That power ceased to apply 330 days after EES began. By our count the last day was 6 September 2026, and it ceased from 7 September. The regulation has no mechanism to extend it.

What is not confirmed

According to press reports that trace to a single Times report, nine countries were allowed to keep limiting biometric checks after the deadline. They are France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Italy and Switzerland. We found no official statement or legal instrument confirming this, and the Commission has not commented, so we label it Unconfirmed.

What it means for a connection

If you change planes at your first Schengen airport, the border check and its queue sit inside your connection time. The connection check estimates how much time that may need, with every figure labelled as reported or as our assumption. It assumes full biometric registration.