While the official deadline for the full implementation of the new Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES) remains April 10, 2026, the European Commission has confirmed that Spain and other member states can make use of a “flexibility period” to manage peak summer traveller peaks more effectively. This grants Spanish airports a reprieve from full-scale biometric checks until September 2026.
Major Spanish holiday destinations, like Barcelona-El Prat and Málaga-Costa del Sol airports, have pushed for this flexibility after trials indicated processing times could increase by 30-50%, risking massive queues during summer the high season.
The system’s official rollout began in October 2025. By September 2026, the flexibility window will close, and full biometric registration will be mandatory at all external Schengen borders. As a result, the full ETIAS travel authorisation, which registers UK and non-EU travellers using biometric data and is dependent on EES, will launch in early 2027, and not the last quarter of 2026 as originally reported.
Read the detail here at International Airport Review.