Frontex said EU member states can temporarily suspend biometric passport registration under the EES if summer queues at Airports in Europe become unmanageable. The option is limited to the tourism season, and any relief would end by September.
Uku Särekanno, the deputy executive director of Frontex, said biometric registration is probably the most challenging part of the EES rollout. He said it could take as long as two years for the EES to start operating as smoothly as possible, even as British travellers and other passengers enter the Schengen Area through the new system.
First enrolment slows the passport line
The EES requires first-time travellers to give biometric information such as fingerprints and a photo when they enter the Schengen Area. Frontex said that first enrolment is the heavier moment, while repeat trips within the retention period are faster after the first registration. The agency also said member states are working to keep queues down through extra staffing, self-service kiosks and pre-registration tools before using any temporary lift of the rules.
Spain and Italy already seeing delays
Delays have already been seen in Portugal, Spain and Italy following the initial EES rollout, and British travellers have been warned of queues of up to six hours. Frontex said the system is working and tens of millions have already registered, but the summer peak could still force national authorities to slow the process at the worst pinch points.
Särekanno said, “We have until the end of the summer the possibility during the tourism season to lift the biometric controls or the biometric registration temporarily,” and added, “If there is a peak hour, you see that there are hundreds of people queuing, their queues are getting too long, then member states still have the possibility to lift biometric registration.” A Frontex spokesperson said, “The EES regulation includes a contingency flexibility so that national authorities can suspend biometric registration where queues become too long, particularly during the summer peak.”
National authorities decide
The decision sits with national authorities, not Frontex, so the practical effect will vary by border point. For travellers, that means the first crossing under the EES may still bring biometric checks, but a temporary pause is available where queues build too far and the line becomes the immediate problem.
The open question is which specific Airports in Europe or border crossings will use that relief first. By September, the temporary option ends and the EES rules return without the summer fallback.
