Austria has taken another decisive step toward biometric border management. In the early hours of 21 November 2025 Innsbruck Airport quietly switched on the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES). The move makes the Tyrolean gateway the country’s third air-hub—after Vienna (12 October) and Salzburg (12 November)—to begin live enrolment of third-country nationals. Every non-EU traveller arriving or departing on a short-stay Schengen visa now has fingerprints, a high-resolution facial image and passport data captured and stored for up to three years.
Airport chief executive Marco Pernetta told ORF Tirol that first-time enrolments add “30–60 seconds per passenger”, a figure that could double queue times at peak ski-season weekends when up to 12,000 British, Norwegian and Icelandic tourists funnel through the small terminal. To mitigate bottlenecks the airport has doubled automated passport gates and deployed roving “EES helpers” who speak German, English and Italian.
![Innsbruck Airport Activates EU Entry/Exit System, Joining Vienna and Salzburg]()
From a business-mobility perspective, the phased roll-out offers valuable lessons for Austrian employers who routinely fly in contractors from the UK, U.S. and Asia. Companies are being urged to build extra dwell time into itineraries, brief travellers on biometric capture, and verify that passports are machine-readable and undamaged—defects that force manual processing. Travel-management firms report a surge in requests for fast-track and concierge services tied to EES complexity.
The test phase will run until 10 April 2026, when the system goes live EU-wide. If benchmarks on processing speed and data accuracy are met, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner says Graz, Linz and Klagenfurt airports will follow in December, completing Austria’s air-border conversion four months ahead of Brussels’ deadline. The Interior Ministry has ring-fenced €11 million for staff training, cyber-security hardening and public-awareness campaigns.
Airport chief executive Marco Pernetta told ORF Tirol that first-time enrolments add “30–60 seconds per passenger”, a figure that could double queue times at peak ski-season weekends when up to 12,000 British, Norwegian and Icelandic tourists funnel through the small terminal. To mitigate bottlenecks the airport has doubled automated passport gates and deployed roving “EES helpers” who speak German, English and Italian.
From a business-mobility perspective, the phased roll-out offers valuable lessons for Austrian employers who routinely fly in contractors from the UK, U.S. and Asia. Companies are being urged to build extra dwell time into itineraries, brief travellers on biometric capture, and verify that passports are machine-readable and undamaged—defects that force manual processing. Travel-management firms report a surge in requests for fast-track and concierge services tied to EES complexity.
The test phase will run until 10 April 2026, when the system goes live EU-wide. If benchmarks on processing speed and data accuracy are met, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner says Graz, Linz and Klagenfurt airports will follow in December, completing Austria’s air-border conversion four months ahead of Brussels’ deadline. The Interior Ministry has ring-fenced €11 million for staff training, cyber-security hardening and public-awareness campaigns.
