Barely hours after the Entry/Exit System (EES) went live, Belgian-based industry bodies sounded the alarm. In a sharply worded joint statement issued from Brussels on 10 April, Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe) and Airlines for Europe (A4E) warned that the first day of mandatory biometric checks produced passenger backlogs of two to three hours at border control and caused some flights to leave half-empty when late-running travellers failed to reach the gate. Examples cited include a Brussels-to-London service that pushed back without 51 ticket-holders and another intra-EU departure that had no passengers on board at scheduled closing time. The associations want the European Commission to let border-guard commanders ‘‘fully suspend’’ biometric capture when queues exceed a pre-set threshold—an option that expired when the pilot phase ended at midnight. Operational headaches are most acute for Belgium’s network-carrier hub at Brussels Airport, where Schengen and non-Schengen flows intersect in ageing infrastructure built for a simpler era. Hand luggage and duty-free allowances mean many passengers still carry liquids that trigger secondary screening, compounding choke-points on the airside corridors that funnel into the new EES kiosks.
![Multi-Hour Queues on Day One: Belgian Airports and Airlines Demand Flexibility in EES Roll-out]()
For travellers who would rather avoid nasty surprises at the checkpoint, VisaHQ offers up-to-the-minute guidance on Belgium’s border procedures through its dedicated hub at https://www.visahq.com/belgium/ The platform tracks EES developments, biometric requirements and visa exemptions in real time, and can arrange expedited passport renewals or document services so passengers can focus on making their flight instead of standing in yet another queue.
ACI’s director general Olivier Jankovec said the reputation of Europe—and Belgium—as a seamless destination for tourists and executive travellers was ‘‘on the line’’ just as airlines ramp up summer schedules. The group is lobbying for dynamic rules that allow border officers to revert to visual passport checks during peaks, combined with a bigger public-information campaign so that travellers understand they may need to arrive four hours before departure. For global-mobility teams the practical takeaway is clear: build extra buffer time into travel itineraries, warn assignees about possible missed connections, and monitor Belgium’s response as other Schengen states push for the same leeway.
For travellers who would rather avoid nasty surprises at the checkpoint, VisaHQ offers up-to-the-minute guidance on Belgium’s border procedures through its dedicated hub at https://www.visahq.com/belgium/ The platform tracks EES developments, biometric requirements and visa exemptions in real time, and can arrange expedited passport renewals or document services so passengers can focus on making their flight instead of standing in yet another queue.
ACI’s director general Olivier Jankovec said the reputation of Europe—and Belgium—as a seamless destination for tourists and executive travellers was ‘‘on the line’’ just as airlines ramp up summer schedules. The group is lobbying for dynamic rules that allow border officers to revert to visual passport checks during peaks, combined with a bigger public-information campaign so that travellers understand they may need to arrive four hours before departure. For global-mobility teams the practical takeaway is clear: build extra buffer time into travel itineraries, warn assignees about possible missed connections, and monitor Belgium’s response as other Schengen states push for the same leeway.
