With the EU’s biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) due to go live on 10 April 2026, Brussels Airport has confirmed that it finished major border-control upgrades on 15 January. The €24-million project adds 61 self-service enrolment kiosks for non-EU nationals, 36 new e-gates fitted with facial-recognition cameras and 12 extra staffed booths in arrivals; all 33 fixed counters have also been equipped with high-definition camera hardware.(visahq.com)
EES will replace manual passport stamping and automatically log every third-country national’s biometric and travel-document data on first entry, storing the record for three years. Belgian Federal Police plan to authorise e-gate use for selected “trusted” nationalities before Easter, while Schengen citizens will continue to use current fast lanes.
Travel planners who want to stay ahead of the new requirements can tap VisaHQ’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) for real-time updates on Schengen entry rules, biometric obligations and visa options; the platform’s notification tools help travellers avoid accidental overstays once EES tracking begins.
![Brussels Airport completes border-control overhaul with 61 biometric kiosks and 36 e-gates]()
For companies the change is more than cosmetic. Overstay calculations will become automatic, making it harder for frequent travellers to “reset” Schengen days with quick weekend trips. Airport modelling suggests that first-time enrolment should take under two minutes, but peak-hour queues are expected while travellers familiarise themselves with the system.
Data-protection officers have welcomed assurances that storage complies with GDPR, yet warn that corporate travel systems holding duplicate biometric information must check contractual safeguards. Airlines have been invited to join off-peak trials in February, and the airport is recruiting 75 customer-care agents to shepherd passengers through the new flow.
Mobility managers should extend connection buffers at BRU from March, update trip-approval workflows to capture biometric-consent declarations and remind travellers that finger-plasters, henna or smudged lenses can trigger ‘re-capture’ screens and slow passage.
EES will replace manual passport stamping and automatically log every third-country national’s biometric and travel-document data on first entry, storing the record for three years. Belgian Federal Police plan to authorise e-gate use for selected “trusted” nationalities before Easter, while Schengen citizens will continue to use current fast lanes.
Travel planners who want to stay ahead of the new requirements can tap VisaHQ’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) for real-time updates on Schengen entry rules, biometric obligations and visa options; the platform’s notification tools help travellers avoid accidental overstays once EES tracking begins.
For companies the change is more than cosmetic. Overstay calculations will become automatic, making it harder for frequent travellers to “reset” Schengen days with quick weekend trips. Airport modelling suggests that first-time enrolment should take under two minutes, but peak-hour queues are expected while travellers familiarise themselves with the system.
Data-protection officers have welcomed assurances that storage complies with GDPR, yet warn that corporate travel systems holding duplicate biometric information must check contractual safeguards. Airlines have been invited to join off-peak trials in February, and the airport is recruiting 75 customer-care agents to shepherd passengers through the new flow.
Mobility managers should extend connection buffers at BRU from March, update trip-approval workflows to capture biometric-consent declarations and remind travellers that finger-plasters, henna or smudged lenses can trigger ‘re-capture’ screens and slow passage.
