The official advisory of Frankfurt Airport has warned non-EU passengers that they should arrive at least 3 hours before their departure time due to delays of EES border control procedures.
The Entry/Exit System, hailed as one of Europe’s mass border management systems, has not handled the pressure from summer travel owing to technical difficulties of the system after operation.
Airports including Amsterdam, Munich and Frankfurt have reported significant delays for passengers at biometric kiosks.
Whilst the timelines of both systems are not dependent on each other, the ETIAS launch has been delayed until a later date whilst the European Union does not want to navigate two IT systems going live at the same time.
The EES was fully deployed in October 2025,. Queues have doubled since this time last year after a chaotic rollout.
Ryanair’s boss has made a formal appeal to 29 Schengen states as stricter rules come in after September. He criticised the physical kiosk process and reiterated that whilst there have been issues littered with the system, passengers have the responsibility to arrive at the boarding gate on time. Airline boarding gate policies haven’t changed as a result of EES border queues.
Peak waiting times reach 2-3 hours at the worst times.
EU countries may temporarily suspend use of the EES when excessively longer queues form at the border however, from September exemptions will no longer apply and the rules get stricter.
There were repeated delays even before the EES implementation due to interoperability challenges, however
In February, Airports Council International, IATA and A4E warned that EES was causing significant delays for passengers. The trio identified three critical issues that are compounding delays – including chronic border control understaffing, unresolved technology issues, and the unlimited uptake of the Frontex pre-registration app by Schengen states.
