EES is fully active at every Greek border crossing and has been since 10 April 2026. Greece has not suspended it nationally, and the European Commission has refused calls to pause the system for the summer.
Last updated: 13 August 2026.
The live question is the temporary biometric-pause flexibility Greek border police have leaned on all summer. It expires on 6 September 2026, and Greece is one of nine countries asking Brussels to keep it.
Is EES paused in Greece, or still running?
EES is running at every Greek crossing, and Greece has published no national suspension notice or queue threshold. What can vary is the biometric step at an individual crossing, not the system itself.
Under Regulation (EU) 2025/1534, a member state can briefly pause fingerprint and facial-image capture at a named crossing when queues exceed capacity:
- It is local and short: it applies to one named crossing point for up to six hours at a time, and each use has to be reported to Brussels.
- The database stays live: your entry and exit are still recorded and your passport is still checked, so a skipped scan does not pause the 90/180-day clock.
- It cannot target one nationality: a pause has to cover everyone at that crossing, not a single passport type.
So do not assume your Greek airport will skip biometrics on the day you fly. Plan for full registration and treat a pause as a bonus.
The islands are the pressure point, not just Athens
Greece’s EES exposure sits in seasonal island airports, which are run separately from Athens International Airport. Fraport Greece operates 14 regional airports, including Rhodes, Corfu, Kos, Mykonos, Santorini and Chania, and most of their non-EU traffic lands inside a few summer months.
Fraport Greece chief executive Alexander Zinell told the Financial Times that conditions are “very unpleasant for passengers, and even dangerous,” with staff putting up gazebos to shade passengers queueing outside. The Commission counts about 20 of some 1,500 Schengen crossings as seriously strained, citing one small airport with four booths and 3,000 arrivals in an hour.
| Gateway | Operator | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Athens (ATH) | Athens International Airport | The country’s highest non-EU volume. Arrive 2.5 hours before departure, per the airport’s own advice. |
| Rhodes, Corfu, Kos, Chania, Santorini, Mykonos | Fraport Greece | Peak island gateways with heavy UK traffic. Outdoor queueing has been reported, and the smallest terminals build a queue fast even at moderate traffic. |
| Heraklion (HER) | Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority | Crete’s busiest entry point, outside the Fraport network, so booth capacity is managed separately. |
If you hold a British passport
UK government guidance, updated on 11 August 2026, says Greek authorities have indicated they will not collect biometric data from UK travellers. Treat that as a practice that may hold on the day, not a rule you can plan around.
EES contains no nationality exemption. Greece announced one after the April rollout, then withdrew it when the Commission made clear that member states cannot pick which travellers they take biometrics from.
- Turn up expecting fingerprints and a facial image, and be pleasantly surprised if you are waved through.
- The flexibility behind the practice lapses on 6 September 2026, so autumn trips are likelier to see the full process.
What gets registered at a Greek border
On your first crossing an officer creates a digital file that replaces the passport stamp. EES covers non-EU nationals on short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period, not EU citizens or holders of EU and Schengen residence permits or long-stay visas.
- A facial image taken at the border.
- Fingerprints scanned on arrival, unless you are aged 11 or younger.
- Your passport data and the details of your entry.
Registration is free and the record is valid for three years, so a later Schengen trip inside that window is quicker. You still clear passport control on every entry and every exit.
Airport wait times: what to expect now
Expect a range, not a number, because Greek waits swing on the hour and on how many booths are staffed. ACI Europe reported peak queues averaging two to three hours or longer across airports in 15 countries, and the July letter from member states cited waits reaching five hours at the worst moments.
Off-peak is a different experience, and the Commission puts the check itself at about 70 seconds. The queue is set by how many arrivals land in the same hour, which is why small island terminals suffer more than their size suggests.
How to plan around it
Build the buffer into the booking, not into your morning at the airport. Your exit is an EES transaction too, which is what has caused missed departures at Athens this summer.
- Arrive early: follow the 2.5-hour advice at Athens, and add to it at a small island terminal in August.
- Prepare your passport: have it open and ready, and take off glasses and hats so the facial scan is quick.
- Avoid the tightest connections: when comparing itineraries on Wego, treat any self-transfer or sub-two-hour Schengen connection through a Greek airport as high risk.
- Check before you fly: compare flights to Athens by arrival hour, then watch conditions on the Wego flight tracker.
- Track the pauses: Wego’s EES suspension tracker shows where capture is being switched off, country by country.
What happens on 6 September 2026
That date is the decision point and nothing has been decided. On 7 July 2026 Greece signed a joint letter with Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland to European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Magnus Brunner, calling the mechanism’s scheduled end “a source of serious and legitimate concern.”
The Commission welcomed the letter without committing, and has said extended suspension windows lack legal underpinning. Plan for the stricter outcome: if you fly in September or later, assume full registration on entry and exit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is EES paused in Greece right now?
No. EES is fully operational at every Greek border crossing as of 13 August 2026, and Greece has published no national suspension notice or queue threshold. Border police can pause biometric capture at a specific crossing under the EU mechanism, but that is local and short-term.
How long are the queues at Greek airports?
There is no single live figure. Airport bodies reported peak waits of two to three hours or longer across affected Schengen airports this summer, member states cited up to five hours at the worst moments, and off-peak crossings can take minutes.
Are British travellers exempt from EES in Greece?
Not legally. UK guidance updated on 11 August 2026 says Greek authorities have indicated they will not collect biometric data from UK travellers, but EES has no nationality exemption and Greece withdrew its earlier announcement of one after the Commission objected. Arrive expecting full registration.
If my biometrics are skipped, does my 90-day allowance reset?
No. Your entry and exit still enter the central EES database and your travel document is still checked, so 90 days in any 180-day period keeps counting as normal.
Sources
- European Commission, Migration and Home Affairs (EES fully operational from 10 April 2026)
- GOV.UK Greece entry requirements (11 August 2026 update: UK biometric position, three-year record)
- Euronews (7 July letter, nine signatories, 6 September expiry)
- Biometric Update (EU declining suspension, 20 of 1,500 crossings, four-booth example)
- TIME (ACI Europe peak queues, five-hour reference)
- The Guardian, via AOL (Fraport Greece chief executive on island conditions)
- Fraport Greece (its 14 regional airports)
- The Connexion (Greece withdrawing its UK exemption)
Disclaimer: Wego strives to ensure all information presented in this article is accurate and up to date at the time of publication. Travel policies, prices, visa requirements, and conditions can change rapidly. We strongly recommend verifying critical details with official sources before making travel decisions. Wego does not accept liability for any inaccuracies, oversights, or changes that may occur after publication.
