The EU’s new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) launched on April 10, 2026. We crunched the passport control data at major hubs to see how the new fingerprint and facial scans are actually impacting wait times.
The verdict? Averages are deceiving, and peak times are brutal.
The Hard Data:
- Amsterdam (AMS): Average waits rose 25% post-rollout, but peak wait times spiked to 100 minutes.
- Zurich (ZRH): Average waits rose 26%, with maximum wait times hitting a staggering 120 minutes for non-Schengen arrivals.
- Frankfurt (FRA): Paradoxically, the average wait time actually dropped slightly—but the absolute maximum wait spiked from 90 to 120 minutes.
The EES Effect When the halls are empty, the system is highly efficient. But when multiple long-haul flights land at once, the biometric bottlenecks push delays into the 1.5 to 2-hour territory.
Elsewhere in Europe, the chaos is worse. Milan saw flights depart without passengers trapped in line, mega-hubs like Paris and Madrid report 2-4 hour queues, and Portugal and Greece have had to temporarily suspend biometric checks just to keep lines moving.
How to Survive the Summer Rollout:
- Download the Official App: Before you travel, download the EU’s official Travel to Europe mobile app to pre-register your passport and travel details. Doing this in advance drastically reduces the time you spend with the border agent.
- Arrive 3-4 Hours Early: Do not bank on “average” times for departures.
- Pad Connections: If transiting into the Schengen zone through a mega-hub (like FRA or CDG), allow at least a 3-hour layover.
- Use the Kiosks: If you didn’t use the app, pre-register your data at the self-service terminals in the arrival hall to shave crucial seconds off your processing time.