Long Lines Are Hitting European Airports. What’s Happening, and How Can You Avoid Them?

Long lines at European airports are making headlines. People are missing their flights while stuck in line, causing stress for passengers — but there are practical ways to avoid problems.

While much of the new Entry and Exit System (EES) and the passport control experience is beyond your control, there are ways to dodge the worst lines.

Here’s a look at what the new EES system is and how to reduce friction on your trip to Europe.

What Is Europe’s New EES?

The new Entry and Exit System (EES) went into effect in October 2025, but some countries delayed its use until April 10, 2026. Now that it’s fully implemented, the machines are online, and there are sprawling lines as every passenger must provide biometrics on their first visit.

Under the new EES, passport stamps are gone, and every visitor is registered digitally. On your first visit to the European Union and/or the Schengen Area with this new system, nonresidents must provide facial scans and fingerprints. Going forward, they’ll use those same biometrics to enter and exit Europe and provide a digital record of their trips.

This process doesn’t affect residents and citizens; it only applies to new arrivals, such as tourists. Moreover, it doesn’t apply to the U.K, which isn’t part of Schengen or the EU.

Why Are There Long Lines at European Airports?

Now that the EES system is live, all nonresidents arriving in Europe for the first time need to visit an electronic kiosk to scan their passport, take a photo, and provide digital fingerprints. That’s hundreds of people per flight, as most are arriving for the first time since the new system went online.

On future trips, travelers don’t need to register again, reducing the time spent at passport control. As more people complete the process, the number of passengers who need to register biometrics in future months will go down, making lines shorter.

Right now, pretty much everyone on your flight needs to do this. That’s why the lines are so long.

Couple that with the fact that airports rearranged logistics in passport control, employees are still learning the system, and others might be giving wrong directions — out of habit, now that things look different.

Add in the fact that some people are just better at using technology than others, and it’s a recipe for long lines while you wait for people in front of you to complete the process at a limited number of kiosks.

Tips To Help Your Trip Run Smoothly

You can’t control the lines or how slowly other people might use the new machines to register their biometrics. However, there are still a few things you can do to avoid unnecessary waits and problems during your trip.

Arrive Early

If you’re departing from Europe, arrive at the airport earlier than usual. This will compensate for extra time spent waiting in line at passport control and avoid the stress-inducing worry that you’ll miss your flight while stuck in line. Adding an extra 30 minutes or 1 hour can make a big difference here. While airlines normally recommend arriving 3 hours before your flight, arriving 4 hours prior is a good idea right now.

Avoid Short Connection Times

If you’re flying from the U.S. (or elsewhere outside Schengen) into Schengen and then connecting to another flight within Schengen — think a flight from the U.S. arriving in Madrid before an onward flight to northern Italy — you’ll need to deal with the new EES system in Madrid. How long is your connection time before that flight to Italy?

On a good day, a connection time under 2 hours can be difficult, accounting for passport control, getting to your next gate, and any possible delays with your first flight. Given the current lines, you need a longer layover time. Think 3 hours or more to be safe.

Select Your Arrival Airport Carefully

Some of the worst lines are being reported in Amsterdam (AMS), Paris (CDG), Berlin (BER), Krakow (KRK), and Lisbon (LIS). Lisbon has notoriously bad lines at passport control on most days, so this isn’t a surprise.

However, not everything is bad. Reports indicate that Barcelona (BCN), Madrid (MAD), Copenhagen (CPH), Helsinki (HEL), and Zurich (ZRH) aren’t experiencing chaotic lines. Flying into one of these airports for your European trip could help.

Reports are mixed in Milan (MXP) and Rome (FCO).

Arrive at Off-Peak Times

The majority of flights from the U.S. to Europe depart at night and arrive in the morning. That means you’re arriving in Paris or Munich at the same time as other planes, each carrying hundreds of passengers. Taking a flight at another time, such as a red-eye flight with an afternoon arrival, could put you at passport control with smaller crowds.

Final Thoughts

With a little planning, you can avoid the worst airports and times when long lines form at passport control in Europe.

The good news is that this situation will improve over the coming months, but that offers little relief for travelers heading to Europe in the next few days or weeks. By arriving early, padding your layovers, and carefully selecting your flights, you can avoid the worst waits.