# EES in Germany - Airport Status & Queue Guide | EESQueue

> EU Entry/Exit System status for Germany: which airports have EES live, kiosk counts, first-entry queue estimates and current known issues for non-EU travellers.

Source: https://eesqueue.com/germany-ees-guide

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# EES in Germany — airport status & traveller guide

Germany has been in the Schengen Area since 1995-03-26. The EU Entry/Exit System is live at its external borders, registering non-EU travellers biometrically on first entry.

EES is live at 12 Germany airports tracked here, running at least 432 self-service kiosks between them. 10 have reported significant EES queues — the worst at Berlin (up to 2h on record).

## EES airports in Germany

| Airport | EES status | Kiosks | First-entry est. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Berlin Brandenburg Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/berlin-brandenburg-airport) BER | Live | 60 | ~5 min |
| [Bremen Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/bremen-airport) BRE | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Cologne Bonn Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/cologne-bonn-airport) CGN | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Düsseldorf Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/dusseldorf-airport) DUS | Live | 35 | ~5 min |
| [Frankfurt Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/frankfurt-airport) FRA | Live | 218 | ~6 min |
| [Frankfurt-Hahn Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/frankfurt-hahn-airport) HHN | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Hamburg Helmut Schmidt Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/hamburg-helmut-schmidt-airport) HAM | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Hannover Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/hannover-airport) HAJ | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Leipzig/Halle Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/leipzig-halle-airport) LEJ | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Munich Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/munich-airport) MUC | Live | 119 | ~5 min |
| [Nuremberg Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/nuremberg-airport) NUE | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Stuttgart Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/stuttgart-airport) STR | Live | — | ~5 min |

## Current known issues

**Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER):** Registration began at staffed desks only 2 Dec 2025; self-service pre-registration kiosks (facial capture) live 28 Jan 2026, fingerprint capture added after software certification ~Mar 2026; one travel-industry source reports waits up to 2hrs for some non-EU travelers (undated, lower confidence); named by Ryanair in its expanded 15-airport EES hotspot warning, 15 Jul 2026

**Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN):** Self-service pre-registration kiosks confirmed present near passport control, no count published; named by Ryanair in its expanded 15-airport EES hotspot warning, 15 Jul 2026

**Düsseldorf Airport (DUS):** Was one of the original EES pilot airports in Germany, live since 12 Oct 2025 (ahead of Frankfurt and Munich); 6 additional self-service kiosks for departures located in the public terminal area (check-in area C), separate from the arrivals kiosks near border control

🛂 **Flex mode:** Germany has activated "flex mode": officers may revert to faster manual passport stamping when queues get long. A stamp issued under flex mode is a valid entry record.

Visiting more than one Schengen country? Your 90-day allowance is shared across all of them. Track it with the [90/180 calculator](https://eesqueue.com/schengen-calculator).

**Live queues:** see current first-entry and exit waits at Germany's airports on our [live EES wait times](https://eesqueue.com/ees-wait-times) page.

## EES essentials

### Who does EES apply to?

EES applies to non-EU nationals travelling to the Schengen Area for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. That includes visa-exempt nationalities (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and others) as well as short-stay Schengen visa holders.

### Who is exempt from EES?

EU, EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) and Swiss citizens are exempt. Also exempt: holders of long-stay (national) visas, holders of EU residence permits, diplomats and service-passport holders on official travel, NATO SOFA-status personnel, stateless persons with refugee travel documents, and holders of local border traffic permits.

### How long does first-entry EES registration take?

Typically 3 to 7 minutes per traveler on first entry, depending on the airport, kiosk availability, and language selection. Families and groups should expect longer total times. Airports with pre-registration apps (Finland, Netherlands, some French terminals) can shorten this to under 2 minutes.

### Will I still get a passport stamp?

Usually no. From 10 April 2026, passport stamping was discontinued as the default across the Schengen Area and entries are recorded digitally in EES. However, several countries - including Italy (until 30 September 2026), Belgium, Germany, France, Greece and Switzerland - have activated a formal "flex mode" that allows border police to revert to manual passport stamping whenever queues exceed set thresholds (e.g. 45 minutes in Italy, 25 minutes in Belgium). Stamps issued under flex mode are valid entry records.

### Does EES apply at land borders?

Yes. EES applies at every external Schengen land border, including road crossings from the UK (Dover/Calais and the Eurotunnel), Turkey into Greece and Bulgaria, Moldova into Romania, and non-Schengen Balkan routes into Croatia and Slovenia. Expect longer queues at road crossings during the initial months.