Airports Council International (ACI Europe) has urged the European Commission to reassess the roll-out of the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES) after technical problems produced border-control queues of up to three hours at several major hubs, according to a 27 December report. Although Vienna, Salzburg and Innsbruck have so far avoided the worst congestion, Austrian authorities warned that processing times could jump by 70 % when the registration threshold rises to 35 % of third-country arrivals on 9 January 2026.
Austria’s Interior Ministry FAQ confirms that the six-month pilot phase began on 12 October 2025 and runs until 10 April 2026, during which officers can gradually increase the share of travellers captured in the biometric database. Business travellers from outside the EU should therefore expect sporadic fingerprint and facial-image collection at Austrian airports and should allow extra connection time.
For those looking to navigate these changing requirements smoothly, VisaHQ’s Austria portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) offers concise, up-to-date guidance on EES procedures, visa needs and passport validity rules, and can arrange expedited documentation for both individual travellers and corporate mobility teams.
![Entry/Exit System glitches prompt calls for review as Austrian airports brace for January traffic surge]()
Airlines fear missed connections at Vienna Airport’s Star Alliance hub as winter schedules ramp up. Austrian Airlines has instructed ground staff to monitor transfer passengers from the US, UK and Canada who now require EES enrolment and may miss tight onward flights to Eastern Europe or the Middle East.
Corporate mobility teams should update travel policies: recommend a minimum 90-minute connecting window in Vienna for non-EU nationals, pre-notify VIP-fast-track providers and advise travellers to complete carrier digital-ID enrolment where available. Early January also brings the next stage of system scaling; should stability not improve, ACI Europe is requesting the Commission grant member states flexibility to postpone the threshold increase.
Long-term, the Interior Ministry plans to switch off manual passport-stamping once full EES operations start in April, meaning employers will rely on electronic records to substantiate day-counts for Posted-Worker proofs and 183-day payroll tests.
Austria’s Interior Ministry FAQ confirms that the six-month pilot phase began on 12 October 2025 and runs until 10 April 2026, during which officers can gradually increase the share of travellers captured in the biometric database. Business travellers from outside the EU should therefore expect sporadic fingerprint and facial-image collection at Austrian airports and should allow extra connection time.
For those looking to navigate these changing requirements smoothly, VisaHQ’s Austria portal (https://www.visahq.com/austria/) offers concise, up-to-date guidance on EES procedures, visa needs and passport validity rules, and can arrange expedited documentation for both individual travellers and corporate mobility teams.
Airlines fear missed connections at Vienna Airport’s Star Alliance hub as winter schedules ramp up. Austrian Airlines has instructed ground staff to monitor transfer passengers from the US, UK and Canada who now require EES enrolment and may miss tight onward flights to Eastern Europe or the Middle East.
Corporate mobility teams should update travel policies: recommend a minimum 90-minute connecting window in Vienna for non-EU nationals, pre-notify VIP-fast-track providers and advise travellers to complete carrier digital-ID enrolment where available. Early January also brings the next stage of system scaling; should stability not improve, ACI Europe is requesting the Commission grant member states flexibility to postpone the threshold increase.
Long-term, the Interior Ministry plans to switch off manual passport-stamping once full EES operations start in April, meaning employers will rely on electronic records to substantiate day-counts for Posted-Worker proofs and 183-day payroll tests.
