Airports Council International (ACI) EUROPE has written to the European Commission warning that the new digital Entry/Exit System (EES)—live since 12 October—has already extended border-processing times at some Schengen airports by up to 70 %. Peak-hour waits of three hours were logged last weekend, prompting fears of chaos during the Christmas rush.
Although Brussels Airport has so far avoided the worst delays thanks to plentiful e-gates, Belgian ground-handlers report rostering extra staff to guide confused third-country nationals. From 9 January the EU intends to raise the mandatory biometric-registration threshold from 10 % to 35 % of arrivals; ACI says this is “untenable” without software fixes and staffing flexibility.
![European Airports Urge Commission to Pause Schengen Entry/Exit Roll-out After Three-Hour Queues]()
For travellers who want to minimise the risk of getting stuck in these longer queues, VisaHQ can help. Through its Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/), the service provides up-to-date Schengen entry guidance, pre-checks of travel documents and rapid visa assistance, allowing passengers to arrive at the airport with the correct paperwork and a clearer understanding of the new EES requirements.
Belgium’s Federal Police confirmed intermittent outages of biometric kiosks and the continued absence of a promised pre-registration phone app. The Interior Ministry will join an EU expert meeting on 8 January to consider a temporary cap on EES registrations. In the interim, travel-management companies advise adding at least 60 minutes to Schengen-entry schedules for non-EU customers and executives.
Missed connections caused by EES delays could trigger compensation claims under EU 261, putting cost pressure on airlines. ACI wants Brussels to let airports redeploy security screeners to passport control at short notice until the technology stabilises.
Although Brussels Airport has so far avoided the worst delays thanks to plentiful e-gates, Belgian ground-handlers report rostering extra staff to guide confused third-country nationals. From 9 January the EU intends to raise the mandatory biometric-registration threshold from 10 % to 35 % of arrivals; ACI says this is “untenable” without software fixes and staffing flexibility.
For travellers who want to minimise the risk of getting stuck in these longer queues, VisaHQ can help. Through its Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/), the service provides up-to-date Schengen entry guidance, pre-checks of travel documents and rapid visa assistance, allowing passengers to arrive at the airport with the correct paperwork and a clearer understanding of the new EES requirements.
Belgium’s Federal Police confirmed intermittent outages of biometric kiosks and the continued absence of a promised pre-registration phone app. The Interior Ministry will join an EU expert meeting on 8 January to consider a temporary cap on EES registrations. In the interim, travel-management companies advise adding at least 60 minutes to Schengen-entry schedules for non-EU customers and executives.
Missed connections caused by EES delays could trigger compensation claims under EU 261, putting cost pressure on airlines. ACI wants Brussels to let airports redeploy security screeners to passport control at short notice until the technology stabilises.
