Responding to mounting reports of two-hour passport queues at some Schengen airports, Brussels on 2 May authorised member states to activate “temporary flexibility windows” in the new automated Entry/Exit System (EES). During peak surges border officers will be allowed to postpone non-critical biometric steps—such as fingerprint capture—provided they are completed within 24 hours. Although Cyprus is not yet part of Schengen and therefore not rolling out EES locally, the decision matters for Cypriot citizens and third-country residents who transit hubs like Athens, Paris or Milan. Mobility consultants estimate that 72 % of business trips originating in Cyprus connect through a Schengen airport; the relaxation should cut missed-connection risk during the summer rush. For corporate immigration teams the ruling also clarifies that overstays recorded by EES during a flexibility period will still count toward the 90/180-day limit once biometrics are uploaded. Assignees holding Cypriot residence cards but non-EU passports should therefore keep boarding passes and hotel receipts in case they need to prove exit dates retroactively. Airlines welcomed the move but warned that partial suspensions add complexity to crew briefings. IATA urged the Commission to publish live dashboards showing which airports are operating under flexibility status so travel managers can reroute high-value passengers proactively. Cyprus plans to connect to EES after it joins Schengen—now pencilled in for mid-2027—but officials said the island will study the new opt-out clauses when designing its own rollout timetable.
Source: eKathimerini
