The ‘Deutschlandticket’ price rises, EES system launches at all entry points, German airports get new flights and Deutsche Bahn introduces more international routes – here’s a breakdown of all the changes to travel and transport in Germany in 2026.
EES to be fully operational by mid-April
Germany’s airports have been phasing in the EU’s new Entry & Exit System — known as EES — in recent weeks and months, and by April 9th it is anticipated that the system will be fully operational at all German entry points.
EES is basically an enhanced biometric passport check at external Schengen borders that includes giving a facial scan and fingerprints.
You can find a full explanation of how the new system affects travel HERE and The Local Germany’s coverage of the on-going rollout HERE.
So Düsseldorf airport was the first in Germany to roll out EES checks, from October 12th. Frankfurt and Munich airports were set to follow.
According to a press release by Germany’s Interior Ministry (BMI), which is responsible for security checks at Germany’s borders and entry points, EES is to be rolled out gradually with April 9th, 2026 being the deadline for when Germany “will have the system in full operation at all its external air and sea borders.”
UK ETA
Similarly, the UK government has warned European travellers that they will be refused entry from February 2026, if they do not have the required ETA visa waiver.
READ ALSO: Do I need an ETA visa for my German spouse or children?
New Flights in 2026
Germany will also see a number of new flight routes launched to and from the country next year.
These include new European routes, such as that from Frankfurt to Trondheim in Norway, and several new budget connections from the smaller airports of Saarbrücken and Friedrichshafen to destinations in Spain and Italy.
There are also several new long-haul flights from Germany’s larger airports, like from Frankfurt to Bangkok or Las Vegas, and a continuation of the new routes from Munich to São Paulo or Johannesburg.
A boy pushes his trolley at Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS). (Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP)
Read The Local’s full breakdown of them all HERE.
Aviation tax cuts
The German government also plans to reverse an increase in aviation taxes by July 2026. The air traffic ticket, which is to be cut, was levied on each passenger ticket sold for flights from German airports.
This can be expected to result in a small decrease in the price of passenger tickets, although it will ultimately be up to the airlines themselves to decide whether to pass the savings on to passengers.
READ ALSO: Germany to reverse air travel tax increase next year
Deutschlandticket price increase
From January 1st, the price for a Deutschlandticket subscription, which enables pass holders to ride on all regional and local transport across the country, is to rise by €5 to €63 per month in total.
While it’s still cheaper than the cost of similar local and regional offers in many places, the price of the Deutschlandticket has seen repeated price hikes in recent years – it had cost €49 per month in 2024 and then €58 per month in 2025.
Going forward, the government intends to create a mechanism that would allow the price of the travel pass to rise from time to time to keep pace with rising wage and energy costs for transport companies.
Other changes in train travel
Buying train tickets for international journeys starting from Germany should be a bit easier in the coming year thanks to an EU rule that obliges Deutsche Bahn (DB) as well as railway providers in neighbouring countries to offer single tickets for the entire journey.
DB will also be launching new connections from December 14th when its winter timetable begins. These include more, and faster journeys, from Stuttgart to Berlin (via Nuremberg) and from Hamburg to Frankfurt.
READ ALSO: ‘Dresdner Bahn’ opening improves railway connections to Berlin airport
There are also more and extended connections coming online that better connect German cities to those in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland and Switzerland.
Read more about DB’s new timetable and the coming changes that are set to continue into the new year HERE.
By the way, if you have “exploring Europe via sleeper trains” on your wish list, 2026 could be a good year to try it out.
Also starting on December 14th, just ahead of the new year, is an overnight connection from Munich to Przemyśl, Poland, with stops in Salzburg, Linz and Vienna in Austria as well as in Bohumín in the Czech Republic.
Then, starting in March, European Sleeper is launching a direct Berlin to Paris overnight journey (via Brussels) that will effectively replace the Berlin-Paris Nightjet service which is being scrapped.
Also, Swiss railway SBB has announced a new night train from Basel to Malmö via Germany and Denmark, launching on April 15th, 2026.
Beds inside the compartment of a sleeping car of a train of the new generation of the Nightjet sleeper trains. Photo: Alex HALADA/AFP.
Driver changes
The coming year brings a bit of good news for anyone thinking about getting their driver’s licence – Germany’s Transport Minister has put forward a plan to make that process cheaper, and those proposals are supposed to come into effect in the first half of 2026.
Also, digital driver’s licences – that is, a copy of your licence that you keep in an app on your phone – should be rolled out by the end of next year.
If you drive to work in Germany you should also be aware that the commuter allowance rises to 38 cents per kilometre, from the very first kilometre, as of January 1st, 2026. This can be expected to amount to a larger tax break for regular car commuters.
And in other car-related tax breaks, people who buy an electric car in 2026 would be exempt from paying a vehicle tax on it until 2035, according to current plans.
You can find our more comprehensive guide to all the changes for drivers in Germany in the coming year HERE.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thelocal.de
