⚠ Summer peak approaching — airport groups warn of 4+ hour waits at CDG July–August. Plan accordingly.

Paris Airports · EES Border System

How long is the wait
at customs right now?

The EU's Entry/Exit System has been fully mandatory since April 10, 2026 — and Paris airports are feeling it. This page tracks crowd-sourced wait times at CDG and Orly, updated as reports come in. If you're flying soon, check back before you go. Updated Mondays and Thursdays during off-peak travel periods; Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays during peak season.

Last updated: Hune 14, 2026 — 06:30 CET
🚧

This page is a work in progress. There's no centralized tool yet for tracking EES wait times at Paris airports — so I'm building one, manually, using traveler reports. The data above reflects what I've been able to gather and verify so far. If you've recently flown through CDG or Orly, please fill out the form below — every report helps make this more accurate for everyone flying this summer.

Current Status

CDG
Charles de Gaulle
2 hours
Peak wait · non-EU travelers
Medium
July 14
ORY
Orly
30 minutes
Peak wait · non-EU travelers
Low
July 14

Peak hours: 06:00–09:00 and 16:00–19:00 CET  ·  First-time EES registration takes significantly longer than repeat crossings  ·  Budget 3–4 hrs before departure for exit processing  ·  Groupe ADP advises 4 hrs before departure during Pentecost and summer peaks

Report Your Wait Time

Just flew through Paris? Tell me what you experienced — arrival or departure, time of day, how long you waited. I read every submission and update the tracker above as reports come in.

No account needed. Your report may be quoted (anonymously) in the tracker below.

✓ Report received — thank you. I'll review and update the tracker shortly.

Traveler Reports

CDG
Departure. Terminal 2E, July 7. EES was suspended.
July 7
~12:30
ORY
Arrival. Terminal 3, July 4. Super Easy.
July 4
~22:30
CDG
Arrival. Terminal 2D, June 30. Kiosks not scanning UK passports.
June 30
~08:00
CDG
Departure. Terminal 2D, June 25. The EES registration wasn’t working so we just went through the e gate.
June 25
~11:20
CDG
Arrival. Terminal 2C, June 19. Not scanning just auto gates.
June 18
~11:30
CDG
Arrival. Terminal 2E K, June 18. Arrived from PHX on Air France and continued to ZUR, Arrival 2E K and proceeded to 2F. No pre-register EES Kiosks, proceeded directly to Passport Control (all gates were red). Less than 15 minutes to clear passport control - passport was scanned by agent and I was cleared. (no fingerprints were processed and no conversation of length of stay or purpose of visit).
June 18
~14:15
CDG
Departure. Terminal 2C, May 28. There were no staff working, no signage etc and this is before you reach the EES area. Stood in a very long line (which we assumed was for baggage), approx 1,000 long but only to be funneled into two kiosks where we had to scan our boarding passes. At EES area we were sent to the wrong area, along with many on our flight to Montreal, and finally we told someone that our flight was about to board in 20 min and that we needed to get processed quicker. Sent to another line (with one person processing EES) and then finally jumped the queue to the kiosks after being told that those with Cdn passports could use the kiosks. It was a sheer nightmare! They also opened a separate baggage area for those heading to Montreal. We had to run to the gate and my son and I were the last ones to board (flight had been delayed by 20 min). I understand however that some people did not make the flight. Avoid CDG at all costs. In comparison, arriving in Heathrow there were no line ups, 3 staff working to assist, just scanned our passports and were through. In this case we had to get an entry "visa" in advance.
May 28
~11:30
CDG
Terminal 2E, May 20. Departure. Massive wait times took 1 hour 50mins to get through they were even handing water out ,when finally through all our cases were on the floor because of the back log.
May 20
~06:45
CDG
Terminal 2E, May 6. Departure. We were not fingerprinted and we sailed through without anyone ahead of us at passport control and perhaps a dozen ahead of us at security. We were Skypriority with AF, so were in a separate queue, but the regular queue was almost as short. Our flight was at 1:30 pm. Under 30 minute wait time.
May 6
~09:00
CDG
Terminal 2D, May 4. Departure. Manually processed. Fingerprints and photos not scanned. 30-60 minute wait time.
May 4
~12:00
CDG
Terminal 2D, May 2. Arrivals. All EES kiosks were inactive with red lights. Manual processing. Fingerprints and photos not taken. 1-2 hour wait time.
May 2
~12:40
CDG
Terminal 2E, late April. Non-EU passengers funneled into manual lanes even with a biometric passport — no kiosk compatibility confirmed for first-time EES registration. Wait: just under 2 hours on a Wednesday morning. Missed onward connection.
Apr 23
~08:30
CDG
Departure, Terminal 2F. Queue for EES exit processing backed up onto the departures concourse. Staff directing passengers to "join the line and hope." Gate held — barely. Budget more than 3 hours for departures right now.
Apr 19
~14:00
ORY
Arrival, Orly 4. About 90 minutes start to finish. Shorter than CDG but still significant — the kiosks were working but understaffed. Officers were processing manually for anyone with a technical read error.
Apr 17
~11:00
CDG
Terminal 2E, Saturday morning. Kiosks crashed shortly after opening — officers reverted to manual processing. Multiple passengers reported missing connections. "Organised chaos" was the phrase used repeatedly.
Apr 13
~08:00
CDG
Opening day — mandatory EES launch. UNSA-PAF confirmed system failures across multiple terminals. 2,300 kiosks installed overnight — but early-morning arrivals at T2E still reported waits exceeding 90 minutes before peak volume even hit.
Apr 10
~07:00

What is EES?

01

Biometrics replace stamps

Physical passport stamps are gone. Every non-EU traveler now has fingerprints and a facial photo captured digitally at the border — on arrival and departure.

02

Who it affects

Americans, Brits, Australians, Canadians — anyone from outside the EU/Schengen zone traveling for short stays. French residents with long-stay visas or carte de séjour are exempt.

03

First time is slowest

Your first EES registration takes the longest. Biometric data is stored for three years, so subsequent crossings are theoretically faster — once the system stabilizes.

04

Pre-register if you can

The EU's official "Travel to Europe" app (iOS/Android) lets you pre-enter passport details and a facial image up to 72 hours before arrival, potentially reducing booth time.

Practical Tips

  • 01 — Arrive 3–4 hours before departure if flying out of CDG or Orly this spring or summer. Groupe ADP is recommending 4 hours during peak periods. Airlines are not holding flights for EES queues.
  • 02 — Download the "Travel to Europe" app and pre-register before you fly in. Even partial pre-registration can speed up the booth process.
  • 03 — Biometric passport holders can use self-service kiosks for repeat crossings. First-time registrants — regardless of passport type — must queue for a manned booth for fingerprinting and photo capture.
  • 04 — Avoid the 6–9am wave at CDG if you can — transatlantic overnight flights all land in the same window, maxing out kiosk capacity simultaneously. This is when the worst reports come in.
  • 05 — Global Entry does not help here. EES is a separate EU system. Pre-clearance programs from other countries have no bearing on EES processing times.
  • 06 — Children under 12 are exempt from fingerprinting but still need a digital photo taken. Factor this into your family's processing time estimate.
  • 07 — EES and ETIAS are different things. EES is the biometric border check happening now. ETIAS — the pre-travel authorization for visa-exempt visitors — is expected to launch in late 2026 or 2027. You don't need to do anything for ETIAS yet.
Maintained by A Buckeye in Paris — seven years of figuring France out, one post at a time. Data is crowd-sourced & manually verified