EU Border Guards Lose the Power to Pause Biometric Checks at Busy Crossings

The provision that let European border authorities suspend fingerprint and facial capture when queues built up expires today, and border guards must now run full Entry/Exit System checks whatever the pressure at the desk.

The congestion measures are Article 7(3) and (4) of Regulation (EU) 2025/1534, the temporary derogations written to cover the progressive start of the EES. Both paragraphs cease to apply 330 days from the date the system started operations, which falls on 7 September.

What they permitted was narrow. A member state could suspend EES operations at a crossing point, fully or partially, to handle a system failure or traffic of such intensity that the waiting time became excessive. A partial suspension stopped the registration of biometric data; a full suspension recorded nothing at all. The regulation told states to use the power only when strictly necessary and for the shortest period possible.

The EES became fully operational across participating European borders on 10 April 2026, after a progressive rollout that began in October 2025. It replaces the passport stamp with a digital record and the collection of fingerprints and a facial image from travellers who are not EU nationals.

A European Commission spokesperson told a press briefing that the system had “broadly worked well” over the summer, adding that the Commission was in close contact with the few member states “where some adjustments are needed at certain border crossing points.”

IATA puts a standard passport check that previously took 20 to 25 seconds at about 90 seconds under the EES.

A study by the Financial Times and travel analytics group Qsensor put average waits at Frankfurt at 120 minutes in July, against 60 a year earlier. Munich went to 60 minutes from 31, and maximum waits in Amsterdam moved from 80 to 120.

IATA asked for the safety valve to stay. “Extending the possibility of partial suspension beyond 6 September is absolutely necessary until the end of the winter season,” said Thomas Reynaert, its senior vice president for external affairs, who stressed that IATA is “fully supportive of EES” but wants conditions met first. Writing on LinkedIn, he listed reliable systems, fully deployed self-service kiosks and automated border controls, and adequate staffing.

The UK travel trade body ABTA has pressed the same case. “We continue to push the European Commission to allow these measures to be used beyond September, recognising that there is still some way to go until EES is fully and consistently operational,” said Luke Petherbridge, its director of public affairs.

The Channel Tunnel operator warned in July that EU software problems could delay biometric checks, and Greek airports have called for an overhaul of the system.

Sources: Regulation (EU) 2025/1534, Euronews

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team