Solutions ‘coming early in 2026’ to EES issues at French airports
European Commission denies claims of three-hour ‘peak time’ queues
EES kiosks have been out of action recently at airports
Getlink
How do new EU border changes affect you?
Connexion subscribers can read our help guide to the EES and Etias for free on the Subscriber Resources page here.
If you are not subscribed to the Connexion either click here to subscribe or .
Solutions to problems being experienced with the new EES digital borders procedures at some French airports should be on the way “early in 2026” according to a body representing the sector.
It comes as the European Commission has downplayed claims by a European airports organisation that warned that passengers were already experiencing border processing times increased “up to 70%”, sometimes with three-hour waits at peak times.
ACI Europe said last week it was calling on the commission as well as member states to address operational issues ahead of the requirement in January for use of EES to ramp up to process at least 35% of relevant (non-EU/EEA/Swiss) visitors to the Schengen area.
It warned of “chaos” at the borders if this was not done.
An ACI Europe spokeswoman however clarified to The Connexion that in France the issues were mainly being experienced at the Paris airports, and especially Charles de Gaulle, though she noted ongoing issues in France with pre-registration kiosks and also the use of Parafe passport e-gates, both of which she said were “not currently available”.
She added: “If the state manages to deliver on its promises, things should go well for the remainder of the gradual implementation period [which ends on April 10]. Otherwise, with everything done manually at booths the waiting times are bound to increase exponentially.”
French airports say improvements on the way
A legal expert for Union des Aéroports Français (UAF) told The Connexion there have been “technical problems” with the kiosks, “but updates to the software should resolve these problems in the next few weeks”.
He added that e-gates can already be used in conjunction with EES in certain EU countries, but not yet France.
“IT developments are still underway and have proved more complicated than expected, which explains a certain delay in deployment.
“The Parafes should, we hope, be completely functional and compatible with EES at the start of next year.
“The objective remains that, in due course, all eligible passengers should be able to use the e-gates, whether on their first entry since the start of EES or a subsequent one [ie. when they are already registered in the EES databases].
“It is possible that it will be implemented for ‘subsequent’ travellers before first-entry travellers, depending on the technical /IT advances made in the next weeks.”
Commission says “no significant queues” linked to EES
A European Commission spokeswoman said EES launched “successfully” with a “progressive approach” on October 12, 2025 and “has operated largely without issues”, with “initial challenges typical of new systems” having been “effectively addressed”.
She said member states have already exceeded initial requirements of at least 10% of eligible travellers being registered, and in many cases have exceeded the January threshold with half of travellers already being registered. Thus, concerns about what may happen when the 35% threshold is reached have been “disproven”, she said.
“Processing times have further improved as border guards are gaining experience and procedures are being refined,” the spokeswoman added, saying there is no evidence of “significant queues” being linked to EES, other than in limited specific cases where processing times slightly increased at certain airports.
“In all other instances where queues have formed, member states confirmed these were due to other factors. To this day, no member state has reported or confirmed the claim that border control processing times at airports increased by up to 70% with waiting times up to three hours during peak traffic periods due to the introduction of the EES.”
She added that states already have tools at their disposal to partially or fully suspend EES operations in “exceptional circumstances”.
“This can be employed to address challenges, particularly during peak holiday periods, until processes are fully optimized,” she said.
“The commission is monitoring very closely both the compliance with the legal bases and the operations of the EES at central level and the impact at the borders at national level.
“We are also actively working with member states to facilitate the sharing of best practices.”
