Berlin airport warns EU entry system is causing two-hour queues

Berlin Brandenburg Airport said non-EU passengers have been queueing for up to two hours under the European Union’s new Entry-Exit System, raising fresh doubts about whether the border overhaul can cope with summer traffic.

The warning lands as the system moves from rollout to routine use. The European Commission says the EES began operating on 12 October 2025 with a progressive introduction and became fully operational on 10 April 2026. It replaces manual passport stamping with digital registration of non-EU nationals on short stays, recording each traveller’s facial image, fingerprints and travel-document data.

The Commission says more than 45 million border crossings were registered during the rollout. But airport and airline groups say the change has already produced excessive waits at border control, with delays of up to two hours in some terminals.

Stefan Schulte, who leads both ACI Europe and Fraport, has pressed Brussels for urgent coordinated action. Speaking in Prague, he warned that the system could reach a critical point if border officials are not given more flexibility to manage the summer peak. Industry groups say the disruption is damaging Europe’s reputation, tourism and connectivity at a moment when airports are already absorbing heavy holiday demand.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport’s warning is especially sensitive because the EES now applies across 29 European countries, making the pressure visible far beyond one terminal or one national border post. What began as a technical modernization of passport control is now being measured against a blunt passenger test: whether arrivals can move through airports quickly enough when volumes rise.

The concern is no longer just about the staged rollout itself. Airports and airlines had already flagged persistent delays during the phased introduction, and the Berlin figures suggest the problem is now colliding with peak-season travel in real time. With summer traffic building, the question facing Brussels and national border authorities is whether the queues are a temporary adjustment problem or a sign that the system was designed without enough room for holiday demand.