Americans Face 1-3 Hour Delays In European Destinations Due To New Fingerprinting Rules

You’ve booked the flights, dreamed of the tradition and are counting down the times till your European getaway. But a brand new, high-tech security system being rolled out at major airports is popping that dream arrival into lengthy strains and delays for Americans touchdown in some European locations. While some Americans are flying via the brand new system in minutes, others are reporting confusion and lengthy wait instances. It will all rely upon the place and while you land.

Here at Travel Off Path, we’re all about providing you with the true, on-the-ground intel it’s essential to journey smarter. We’ve been monitoring a surge of stories from vacationers and official sources, and the story is obvious: the complicated, country-by-country launch of Europe’s new biometric border guidelines is inflicting delays, with some Americans reporting waits of up to three hours simply to get via immigration. Below we’ll go over the airports with the longest delays and what you’ll be able to count on to your flight.

Here’s what it’s essential to know earlier than you fly.

First day of the brand new biometric screening for non EU nationals. The EU queue in Brussels airport just about non existent compared pic.twitter.com/vfN2zDOA1s

— Joe Lynam (@JoeBLynam) October 13, 2025

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What Exactly Is Happening on the Border?

This is all a part of the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES), the high-tech course of that’s changing conventional passport stamps. Instead of a border officer stamping your passport, non-EU vacationers now have to make use of a self-service kiosk to offer their biometric information: particularly, four fingerprints and a facial photograph.

While the aim is to hurry issues up in the long term, the preliminary rollout has been a catastrophe in a number of key airports. An ideal storm of technical glitches, inadequate staffing to assist confused passengers, and a scarcity of clear directions is creating large bottlenecks.

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Airports To Keep An Eye On

Based on a consensus of current traveler stories and official airport statements, these are the current hotspots for potential delays. Remember there are numerous elements that may have an effect on wait instances at immigrations together with the time you land and staffing ranges.

• Brussels, Belgium (BRU): This is the epicenter up to now. The airport has publicly acknowledged “challenges” with the brand new system, and vacationers are persistently reporting immigration queues of as much as three hours, inflicting missed connections and immense frustration.
• Prague, Czech Republic (PRG) : Prague’s Airport debut of the EU’s new EES biometric system was marked by chaos, as non-functioning self-service kiosks compelled all non-EU vacationers to be processed manually, resulting in immigration queues of up to 90 minutes. Travelers can now count on longer-than-usual waits and are being formally suggested to reach on the airport not less than three hours earlier than their departure to be secure.
• Rome, Italy (FCO): While the state of affairs in Rome shouldn’t be the meltdown seen in Brussels, vacationers ought to nonetheless be ready for a brand new and probably slower arrival course of. The EES system is now operational at Fiumicino Airport, and whereas widespread, multi-hour delays will not be being persistently confirmed by official sources, a major variety of current on-the-ground traveler stories nonetheless level to longer-than-usual queues and confusion on the new kiosks. The backside line: your entry could possibly be easy, or it could possibly be sluggish, so budgeting further time is the good transfer.

• Spain (MAD & BCN): The state of affairs at Spain’s busiest airports is a transparent signal of the adjustments to come back, however the widespread chaos has not but arrived. Official bulletins and traveler stories verify that Spain is conducting a really gradual and cautious rollout of the EES. This signifies that whereas you will note the brand new biometric kiosks at Madrid and Barcelona, they’re being applied in a phased method. For now, widespread, persistently lengthy queues will not be a serious difficulty, however vacationers needs to be conscious that the system is new and the state of affairs is creating.
• Paris, France (CDG): The rollout in Paris is inflicting some confusion. Charles de Gaulle airport is utilizing a “hybrid system,” the place some passengers are directed to the brand new EES kiosks whereas others nonetheless go to conventional passport cubicles. While this isn’t but inflicting the type of extreme, multi-hour delays seen elsewhere, a consensus of current traveler stories signifies that the complicated course of can create unpredictable strains. The takeaway for vacationers is that the state of affairs is fluid; whilst you may get fortunate with a fast entry, it is clever to be ready for a slower and extra disorganized course of than you are used to.

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Hold On, Is This The Same as ETIAS?

This is a vital level of confusion, so let’s make it easy: No, that is fully separate from the ETIAS.

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What This Means For Your Trip This Fall & Winter

If you’re flying to Europe within the coming months, it’s essential to be ready for a brand new and probably a lot slower arrival expertise.

1. Connecting Flights are Risky: If your itinerary has a brief connection, you’re at excessive danger of lacking your subsequent flight. We strongly advise permitting not less than three hours for any connection in a Schengen zone nation till these points are resolved.
2. Be Prepared for Biometrics: Know that you may be required to offer your fingerprints and a photograph. Having your passport prepared and following the kiosk directions is the quickest manner via.
3. This is The New Normal (For Now): This is not a one-day drawback. As extra international locations activate their methods on this complicated, phased rollout, these delays are prone to turn into extra frequent earlier than they get higher.

Navigating the world of journey guidelines generally is a headache, but it surely would not need to be. To keep on prime of this and every other adjustments, the very best device is our 1 Minute Trip Check, which supplies you the real-time entry necessities for any vacation spot.