- Frankfurt logged a 120-minute average wait for border control in July 2026, the highest among the three hubs.
- Munich’s wait doubled to 60 minutes, while Schiphol’s maximum delay rose to 120 minutes.
- The EU Entry/Exit System’s temporary biometric pause ends on 6 September 2026, likely increasing congestion.
Frankfurt recorded an average border-control wait of 120 minutes in July 2026, the longest average delay among the three hubs. Munich reached 60 minutes, while Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport recorded a maximum wait of 120 minutes. All three reported longer delays than a year earlier.
At the German airports, the July figures climbed from 60 minutes to 120 minutes at the first hub and from 31 minutes to 60 minutes at the second. Schiphol’s peak rose from 80 minutes to 120 minutes. The measurements differ, but the direction was the same.
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The pressure followed the expansion of the EU’s Entry/Exit System, which became fully operational on 10 April 2026. Its phased rollout began in October 2025 and applies to non-EU travelers entering and leaving the Schengen area.
The system requires passport data, fingerprints and facial information during a traveler’s first registration. That process adds time at border control, particularly at airports handling large volumes of connecting and leisure traffic.
Fraport board member Dietmar Focke said transfer passengers were already facing missed-connection risks at the German hub.
“numerous transfer passengers are already getting stuck at border control”
Focke said passengers were regularly at risk of missing connecting flights. Fraport separately said heavy traffic had pushed peak waits at the airport to up to 90 minutes.
The temporary pause on fingerprint and facial capture ends on 6 September
During the summer, border authorities could temporarily suspend fingerprint and facial capture when congestion became extreme. The measure gave officials a way to reduce queues by pausing some registrations at crowded crossings.
That flexibility ends on 6 September 2026. The change is expected to put more pressure on passport-control areas during peak traffic because first-time registrations will need to continue as the system operates at full scope.
The European Commission has said an individual registration takes an average of 70 seconds. At a busy hub, however, thousands of passengers moving through the same control area can turn those individual processing times into long lines.
The three hubs recorded different measures of delay
The available July comparison shows how the airports experienced the rollout:
| Airport | July 2025 | July 2026 | Reported measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfurt | 60 minutes | 120 minutes | Average or maximum wait |
| Munich | 31 minutes | 60 minutes | Wait time |
| Amsterdam Schiphol | 80 minutes | 120 minutes | Maximum wait |
The first German hub therefore doubled its reported July wait. The second rose by 29 minutes. Schiphol’s peak increased by 40 minutes.
The distinction between average and maximum figures matters when comparing the airports. The 120-minute figure at the first hub was reported as an average wait, while the same figure at the Dutch airport represented a peak.
Aviation and travel groups said queues at some points had already reached two hours or more. Major hubs felt the strain most clearly because they combine transfer traffic with passengers beginning or ending leisure trips.
Airports and airlines are asking authorities to retain the flexibility
Frankfurt airport, Lufthansa, Condor and the airport association ADV have urged authorities to extend the summer exemptions. Their request came before the temporary measure’s scheduled end, with the groups warning that congestion could worsen when traffic rises.
The appeal reflects a tension between completing registrations and keeping passengers moving through crowded airports. Suspending biometric capture can ease a line temporarily, but continuing the registration process is required for the system’s full operation.
Focke’s warning focused on connections. A passenger who clears border control late may have little time left to reach a departure gate, especially after arriving on an international flight and transferring within the Schengen area.
The system’s rollout has concentrated attention on first-time enrollment. Travelers already registered in the system do not face the same initial data-capture step described for a first registration, but passport and border checks still remain part of the journey.
Peak traffic will provide the next test. The airports’ summer figures came while authorities could pause capture during severe congestion; from 6 September 2026, that option is due to disappear.
