The European Commission has taken an important step to calm mounting anxiety around the new Entry/Exit System (EES) by allowing Member States to switch key biometric functions on and off during peak periods. The clarification, issued in Brussels on 2 May 2026, comes less than a month after the EES became fully operational on 10 April and follows vociferous lobbying from Belgium, France, Italy and Greece, as well as Europe’s largest airlines. Under the compromise, border police may temporarily suspend fingerprint or facial-image capture when queues exceed predetermined thresholds, while continuing to record the traveller’s passport data and date-stamp electronically. Commission spokesperson Markus Lampert emphasised that the decision is “not a suspension, but a safety valve,” pointing to average processing times of 70 seconds and more than 61 million automated entries/exits logged since October pilot phases. Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden welcomed the move, noting that Brussels Airport had already warned it would need ‘contingency lanes’ unless flexibility was granted before the Ascension Day and Pentecost travel peaks.
![EU Grants ‘Built-In Flexibility’ to Troubled Entry/Exit System After Belgium and Others Warn of Summer Chaos]()
Whether you are a frequent business traveller or arranging mobility for staff, companies like VisaHQ can simplify compliance with the new rules. Their Brussels-based specialists offer real-time Schengen entry advice, 90/180-day calculations and end-to-end processing of Belgian and wider EU visa applications—visit https://www.visahq.com/belgium/ to learn how their alerts and document checks keep trips on schedule despite EES fluctuations.
From a business-mobility perspective, the change reduces the risk of missed connections and knock-on costs for multinational employers moving staff across the EU’s external border. Travel-management companies told The Brussels Times that corporates were preparing to build 90-minute buffers into itineraries; many will now revert to the pre-EES guideline of 45 minutes if flexibility is confirmed at specific airports and ferries. Eurostar—where Belgian and French police operate juxtaposed border controls in London—said it could now avoid capping peak-hour departures. Nevertheless, industry bodies such as Airlines for Europe (A4E) and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) continue to argue for a full suspension until September, warning that ad-hoc pauses could generate confusion. The Commission has tasked eu-LISA, the EU agency running the IT platform, with publishing real-time system-status dashboards so that carriers and travellers can anticipate slow-downs. For global-mobility managers, immediate action points include updating pre-trip communication templates, re-checking minimum connection times on intra-EU tickets, and ensuring that mobile workers understand that fingerprinting may still be required on quieter days. Belgian employers sponsoring assignees on Single Permits should also note that the EES timeline remains critical for visa-overstay calculations—built-in flexibility changes the process, not the underlying 90/180-day rule.
Whether you are a frequent business traveller or arranging mobility for staff, companies like VisaHQ can simplify compliance with the new rules. Their Brussels-based specialists offer real-time Schengen entry advice, 90/180-day calculations and end-to-end processing of Belgian and wider EU visa applications—visit https://www.visahq.com/belgium/ to learn how their alerts and document checks keep trips on schedule despite EES fluctuations.
From a business-mobility perspective, the change reduces the risk of missed connections and knock-on costs for multinational employers moving staff across the EU’s external border. Travel-management companies told The Brussels Times that corporates were preparing to build 90-minute buffers into itineraries; many will now revert to the pre-EES guideline of 45 minutes if flexibility is confirmed at specific airports and ferries. Eurostar—where Belgian and French police operate juxtaposed border controls in London—said it could now avoid capping peak-hour departures. Nevertheless, industry bodies such as Airlines for Europe (A4E) and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) continue to argue for a full suspension until September, warning that ad-hoc pauses could generate confusion. The Commission has tasked eu-LISA, the EU agency running the IT platform, with publishing real-time system-status dashboards so that carriers and travellers can anticipate slow-downs. For global-mobility managers, immediate action points include updating pre-trip communication templates, re-checking minimum connection times on intra-EU tickets, and ensuring that mobile workers understand that fingerprinting may still be required on quieter days. Belgian employers sponsoring assignees on Single Permits should also note that the EES timeline remains critical for visa-overstay calculations—built-in flexibility changes the process, not the underlying 90/180-day rule.
