Credit: Ettelbruck webpage
On Tuesday 8 September 2026, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade reported occasional electronic reading difficulties involving new Luxembourg passports issued since 11 May 2026 at certain international airports.
The ministry stressed that the new Luxembourg passport has no technical defects, fully complies with international standards and remains valid for crossing borders and for all types of international travel.
According to the ministry, the difficulties encountered at some airports may be linked to an ongoing global technological transition between two generations of communication protocols used for the secure reading of electronic passport chips.
Luxembourg has already adopted the newer security protocol known as PACE (Password Authenticated Connection Establishment), which is expected to gradually become the international standard. However, some border control systems have not yet completed their adaptation to the technology or are not correctly configured in line with recommendations from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). This may result in reading difficulties at certain automated border control systems or e-gates.
During this transitional period, travellers carrying a new-generation Luxembourg passport issued since 11 May 2026 may therefore be directed to a conventional border control point staffed by an officer instead of an automated e-gate at some airports abroad.
The Luxembourg authorities noted that they are in contact with ICAO, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the countries concerned in an effort to accelerate the adaptation of border control systems to the new biometric passport reading standards.
