From Sunday, 6 September, temporary flexibility measures for the European Union Entry/Exit System (EES) will end. In the past, member states were allowed to temporarily suspend fingerprinting and facial scanning when crowds became too large.

Travel agencies and airlines warn that the abolition of these measures could bring back the chaos at border crossings. On the other hand, the European Commission points out that the system has generally worked well over the summer and that the security benefits are clear.

The new biometric checks are significantly extending the processing time for passengers at passport controls. According to airline industry figures, a standard passport check that previously took around 20 seconds now takes up to 90 seconds per passenger under the new EES regime. Statistics show that waiting times at major airports in Frankfurt, Munich and Amsterdam have already doubled compared to last year. In some European hubs, peak waiting times are as long as two hours.

The delays have international travel associations pressing Brussels to extend the safety valve until at least the end of the winter season. They say airports still lack sufficient automated kiosks and adequate staffing to keep things running smoothly.