The transitional duty for carriers to keep checking passport stamps alongside the Entry/Exit System (EES) ended on 6 October 2026 (inclusive). From 7 October 2026, the pre-departure check that matters for passengers holding a single- or double-entry Schengen short-stay visa is the reply from the eu-LISA Carrier Interface.
eu-LISA's carrier page states that carriers must register with eu-LISA, use the Carrier Interface to verify whether a visa holder has already used the entries authorised by the visa, and continue to verify the passport stamps until 6 October 2026. The end date follows from Regulation (EU) 2025/1534: for 180 calendar days after the end of the EES progressive start (EES became fully operational on 10 April 2026), carriers had to check stamps in addition to the Carrier Interface.
This is a change for carrier procedures, station briefings and the systems that feed them. Manual stamping at Schengen borders already ended on 10 April 2026.
Operational information for airlines and OTAs. It is not legal advice. Carriers remain responsible for their boarding decisions.
What changes on 7 October
What does not change
Airline checklist
Retire the stamp step from check-in and gate scripts, DCS prompts, and station briefings dated 7 October.
Keep the Carrier Interface query mandatory for single- and double-entry visa holders, including irregular-ops rebookings and interline.
Replace "check stamps" fallbacks with the eu-LISA fallback procedure for Carrier Interface outages.
Confirm ground handlers at outsourced stations received the same update.
Log Carrier Interface replies per passenger. That log is now the evidence trail.
OTA and travel-tech checklist
Update help-centre and pre-trip copy that still mentions stamps as something airlines look at.
Keep collecting visa type and number of entries for Schengen visa holders. Airlines now rely on the system reply, and accurate data upstream reduces gate surprises.
Flag repeat Schengen trips on a single- or double-entry visa in pre-travel messaging. A used entry is now detected by the system.
The note that covered the stamp window, now historical, is passport stamps until 6 October 2026. Channel detail stays in EES carrier checks and the eu-LISA Carrier Interface. Coverage alerts send one email per rule change. How carriers use visa data before departure is in how airlines reduce denied boarding with visa data.
Coverage alerts send one email per rule change for the destinations you pick, from the partner console. Systems can take the same events as webhooks; the shape is in the developer docs. The live requirement for any passport is always in the requirements checker.
Operational information, not legal advice. Carriers remain responsible for their boarding decisions. Check eu-LISA and your national authority for the procedure that applies to you.
eu-LISA, Carriers verified 6 Oct 2026 · European Commission, Entry/Exit System verified 6 Oct 2026 · Council of the EU, Entry/Exit System verified 6 Oct 2026 · eu-LISA Carriers Working Group, 28 Apr 2025 verified 6 Oct 2026