Airlines and airports – including Germany’s main hubs Frankfurt and Munich – left Brussels empty-handed on 8 July after meeting the European Commission to plead for a temporary suspension of the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES). Sector representatives warned that the additional biometric checks have already produced queues of more than two hours at several Schengen border posts and could paralyse operations during the July-August holiday rush. Commission officials insisted that a blanket pause was “technically impossible and unjustified”, pointing out that reliable matching of entries and exits is essential to enforce the 90/180-day rule for visa-free travellers. They blamed bottlenecks on inadequate staffing and infrastructure at national level rather than on the central IT platform. To help, Brussels promised fresh Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI) funding so that member states – Germany included – can buy extra e-gates and roll out a mobile pre-registration app.
![Brussels dismisses calls to pause the new Entry/Exit System ahead of summer peak]()
Travellers who want additional guidance ahead of the switch can turn to VisaHQ, whose German portal offers up-to-date information on entry requirements, digital registration procedures and the documents needed to breeze through checkpoints. The service can also coordinate visa and passport renewals for employees, helping corporate travel managers keep their teams compliant without extra hassle.
For German carriers the decision means they must continue operating under the current rules, which require every non-EU passenger to provide four fingerprints and a facial image the first time they enter the Schengen area after 10 April 2026. Corporate travel managers should warn third-country assignees to allow extra time at passport control and to keep proof of previous EES registration on hand. The Commission reminded states that existing “flexibility clauses” already allow local border police to skip fingerprinting temporarily if wait times become excessive. Munich Airport confirmed it would invoke this derogation during the first construction-affected weekend in August. Since going live, the EES has processed almost 110 million crossings and flagged 1,100 security alerts, according to Commission figures.
Travellers who want additional guidance ahead of the switch can turn to VisaHQ, whose German portal offers up-to-date information on entry requirements, digital registration procedures and the documents needed to breeze through checkpoints. The service can also coordinate visa and passport renewals for employees, helping corporate travel managers keep their teams compliant without extra hassle.
For German carriers the decision means they must continue operating under the current rules, which require every non-EU passenger to provide four fingerprints and a facial image the first time they enter the Schengen area after 10 April 2026. Corporate travel managers should warn third-country assignees to allow extra time at passport control and to keep proof of previous EES registration on hand. The Commission reminded states that existing “flexibility clauses” already allow local border police to skip fingerprinting temporarily if wait times become excessive. Munich Airport confirmed it would invoke this derogation during the first construction-affected weekend in August. Since going live, the EES has processed almost 110 million crossings and flagged 1,100 security alerts, according to Commission figures.
