EU Entry/Exit system paused on peaks

The European Union’s Entry/Exit System is still operating at the bloc’s external borders, but one part of it is not always running. During peak congestion, border authorities can temporarily stop collecting fingerprints and facial images from non-EU short-stay travelers and fall back on manual processing, according to the European Commission and accounts from airlines and border operators. That exception matters because the Entry/Exit System, or EES, was built around biometric registration. The system records a traveler’s name, travel-document data, entry and exit details, fingerprints and captured facial images, and it replaced passport stamping when it became fully operational on April 10, 2026, the Commission says. ### So is the system “off,” or only part of it? (politico.eu) POLITICO reported on Aug. 5 that airports including hubs in Paris and Amsterdam have been shutting off biometric collection when lines become too long, while still processing travelers through passport control. Air France-KLM told the publication that “when lines form during the busy summer months, the system is shut off to ensure smooth transit” at those hubs. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) The practical effect is narrower than a full shutdown. The emergency mechanism allows authorities, in exceptional cases, to suspend fingerprint and facial-scan collection while still registering entries and exits in the Schengen system, according to a July 7 letter from nine countries reported by POLITICO. ### Who is affected when biometrics are skipped? The European Commission says the EES applies to non-EU nationals traveling for a short stay across the external borders of 29 European countries using the system. (politico.eu) Under normal operation, those travelers are meant to have their fingerprints and facial images captured and stored as part of the border-crossing record. (politico.eu) At the border, that means a traveler may still be admitted or recorded even if a kiosk scan does not happen at that moment. POLITICO said passengers have sometimes been routed to manual processing when kiosks are not being used or biometric collection has been paused because of crowding. ### Why did Brussels allow that exception? The European Commission built temporary flexibility into the rollout after pressure from the travel industry and member states facing long queues. (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu) Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier told POLITICO that the EES regulation “includes the possibility to temporarily suspend the registration of biometrics in case of exceptional circumstances during the summer.” (politico.eu) The European Parliament’s research service said in an April briefing that the EES rollout had already encountered delays, technical issues and staffing constraints, and that temporary flexibilities on biometric collection had been introduced under specific conditions. That briefing said the system had already logged more than 52 million crossings. ### Which countries want the waiver kept longer? (politico.eu) Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland asked Internal Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner on July 7 to let countries keep using the emergency mechanism beyond Sept. 6, 2026, according to POLITICO. The ministers wrote that the first months of operation had exposed “significant difficulties.” Commission spokesperson Markus Lammert said at the time that the legislation already included built-in flexibilities and that Brussels remained in contact with the member states facing problems at a limited number of border crossing points. (europarl.europa.eu) POLITICO said the Commission had not indicated it would extend the current flexibility beyond Sept. 6. ### What should travelers understand from this right now? (politico.eu) April 10, 2026, remains the date the EES became fully operational across the participating countries, and the official EU guidance still describes biometric collection as part of the normal process for eligible non-EU travelers. The exception is operational, not a blanket exemption by nationality or route. (politico.eu) Sept. 6, 2026, is the next concrete milestone. That is when the current summer flexibility is due to expire, unless the European Commission agrees to extend it or replace it with another arrangement for the countries that asked to keep it. (politico.eu) (home-affairs.ec.europa.eu)