European authorities have confirmed another delay to the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), the electronic permit that will soon be required of visa-exempt travellers entering the Schengen Area. In a notice published on 15 January 2026, EU officials said the soft-launch will now begin in the final quarter of 2026, with airlines required to enforce the permit only after a six-month transition that ends no earlier than April 2027.
For Spain—Europe’s second-largest tourism market and a major hub for business travel—the new calendar eases fears of a summer-2026 crunch. Airports such as Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat are still learning to manage the companion Entry/Exit System (EES) biometric kiosks that record every non-EU passport swipe. By deferring ETIAS, border-police unions gain time to recruit staff and fine-tune passenger-flow algorithms before two new checks run back-to-back.
![EU pushes ETIAS rollout to late 2026, giving Spain’s travel sector breathing room]()
Travellers and corporate travel coordinators who want a single, trusted hub for ETIAS news and related documentation can turn to VisaHQ. The company’s Spain portal (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) already tracks real-time regulatory updates, offers reminders of upcoming deadlines and—once the system finally goes live—will permit bulk pre-filling of ETIAS applications so that employees or holidaymakers need only review and pay.
The postponement also buys breathing room for hoteliers and conference organisers. Trade bodies had warned that requiring British and American visitors to secure a €20 permit in the middle of the 2026 high season would suppress last-minute bookings and raise no-show rates for large events such as Mobile World Congress and Alimentaria. With ETIAS enforcement shifted to 2027, promotional budgets can focus on volume rather than damage control.
Corporate mobility managers should nonetheless act now. Multinationals are advised to update travel-policy handbooks, enrol employees in official ETIAS mailing lists, and verify that HR systems can capture ETIAS numbers once they become mandatory. The EU has reiterated that it will not recognise third-party “fast-track” sites; internal communications should steer staff toward the official portal and remind them that most approvals will be issued within minutes.
For Spain—Europe’s second-largest tourism market and a major hub for business travel—the new calendar eases fears of a summer-2026 crunch. Airports such as Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat are still learning to manage the companion Entry/Exit System (EES) biometric kiosks that record every non-EU passport swipe. By deferring ETIAS, border-police unions gain time to recruit staff and fine-tune passenger-flow algorithms before two new checks run back-to-back.
Travellers and corporate travel coordinators who want a single, trusted hub for ETIAS news and related documentation can turn to VisaHQ. The company’s Spain portal (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) already tracks real-time regulatory updates, offers reminders of upcoming deadlines and—once the system finally goes live—will permit bulk pre-filling of ETIAS applications so that employees or holidaymakers need only review and pay.
The postponement also buys breathing room for hoteliers and conference organisers. Trade bodies had warned that requiring British and American visitors to secure a €20 permit in the middle of the 2026 high season would suppress last-minute bookings and raise no-show rates for large events such as Mobile World Congress and Alimentaria. With ETIAS enforcement shifted to 2027, promotional budgets can focus on volume rather than damage control.
Corporate mobility managers should nonetheless act now. Multinationals are advised to update travel-policy handbooks, enrol employees in official ETIAS mailing lists, and verify that HR systems can capture ETIAS numbers once they become mandatory. The EU has reiterated that it will not recognise third-party “fast-track” sites; internal communications should steer staff toward the official portal and remind them that most approvals will be issued within minutes.
