Transportation

Vienna airport begins testing kiosk-based entry system

Photo: Alina - stock.adobe.com

March 26, 2026

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Vienna International Airport has begun testing new self-service biometric border-control kiosks as part of preparations for the European Union's upcoming Entry/Exit System (EES), according to a VisaHQ report.The pilot program allows departing non-EU travelers to voluntarily complete a "shadow" version of the border process by scanning their passport, providing four fingerprints and capturing a live facial image at the kiosk. The data are checked against test servers operated by the EU agency eu-LISA, then transmitted to border officers in real time.

During the trial phase, travelers still receive traditional passport exit stamps, and officials say all collected data are stored in a temporary test environment and deleted after system validation.

The trial is intended to help Austrian authorities and Vienna Airport identify potential bottlenecks before the system becomes mandatory across the EU on April 10. Airlines had warned that the introduction of biometric checks during the busy Easter travel season could add 30–45 minutes to passenger processing times. Early tests show the additional procedures adding about six minutes per traveler. To ease the transition, airport staff known as "EES ambassadors" are assisting passengers with the new process.

Austria began installing EES hardware at Vienna and Salzburg airports last October and has since expanded the rollout to Innsbruck, Graz, Linz and Klagenfurt. Once fully implemented, the system will replace manual passport stamping for short-term visitors and automatically track travelers' permitted stays within the Schengen Area.

Transportation