The European Commission signaled on Thursday that more relief is coming for the EU's biometric Entry/Exit System (EES), one month after Brussels declined to extend member states' emergency powers to ease border checks and days after airlines and airports asked for them back.

"There will be some further flexibility," said Maja Bakran Marcich, deputy director-general for mobility and transport at the European Commission, speaking at Skift's Transatlantic Summit in Dublin.

The remark is the clearest indication yet that Brussels is preparing to loosen rules that have slowed passenger processing across the bloc since spring.

Why are borders moving slowly?

Since April, non-EU visitors entering most of Europe must register fingerprints and a facial scan at the border under EES. The process takes far longer than the old passport stamp. At some airports, it has produced queues of several hours.

That friction hits carriers and airport operators directly. Longer dwell times at passport control constrain aircraft turnaround, force schedule padding, and depress non-aero retail spend in terminals — all revenue lines sellers of transatlantic travel now price into their offers.

Until September, member states could temporarily skip the biometric step when lines grew too long. That safety valve has expired. Brussels declined last month to extend it, leaving border police with no legal way to drop the fingerprinting requirement during peak congestion.

What changed this week?

Bakran Marcich's comments followed pressure from the industry. Airlines and airports asked regulators only days ago to restore the emergency easing powers, arguing that processing times remain unsustainable at peak periods.

Her statement stops short of a formal proposal. No date, legal instrument, or scope was specified. The Commission has not said whether flexibility would mean reinstating the expired national waiver, adjusting EES procedures themselves, or delaying enforcement in another form.

For tour operators, OTAs and airline distribution teams, the distinction matters. A restored national waiver would give airports tactical relief but no predictability for summer 2026 capacity planning. A procedural change to EES itself would be slower to enact but more durable.

What does it mean for travel sellers?

The immediate commercial damage is concentrated in the transatlantic market, where U.S. and Canadian arrivals face the new biometric step on first entry to the Schengen area. Queues of several hours at passport control have already tested the passenger experience that carriers sell against.

EES is one of two major border upgrades reshaping European inbound flows. It records biometrics and entry data for non-EU nationals; the linked ETIAS travel authorization (a paid pre-travel permit for visa-exempt visitors) is expected to follow.

Sellers of travel should treat Thursday's signal as directional, not settled policy. The deputy director-general chose the words "some further flexibility" — a hedge, not a timetable. Commission proposals must still clear member-state approval before any change takes effect at the border.

The next concrete test will be whether Brussels publishes a legal text before the winter peak, or whether airports and airlines must process another high-season wave under the full biometric regime.