Travellers arriving at Brussels Airport on 9 May faced passport-control lines snaking well beyond the non-Schengen arrivals hall, reigniting concern about the EU’s new biometric Entry/Exit System (EES). German tech magazine CHIP quoted airport CEO Arnaud Feist describing the situation as “completely unacceptable” and warning that, without urgent fixes, peak-season traffic could descend into chaos. Feist’s comments echo those of Interior Minister Bernard Quintin, who last week ordered a temporary pause in mandatory biometric capture while the Federal Police recruit extra staff. Under EES, fingerprints and facial images of every non-EU traveller must be collected on first entry and verified on exit, replacing the old passport-stamp ritual. While the system promises tighter overstaying controls, it has come at a cost: Brussels Airport reports processing times of 60–90 minutes at busy periods—triple the pre-EES average. The Federal Police, responsible for border checks, are operating with a 25 % staffing shortfall. Twelve additional e-gates have been ordered but will not be operational until July.
![Biometric border system triggers ‘unacceptable’ queues at Brussels Airport ahead of summer rush]()
For travellers looking to minimise uncertainty around documentation and border procedures, VisaHQ can step in as a one-stop facilitator. The company’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) lets business and leisure visitors check real-time entry rules, arrange visas, and receive alerts about EES developments, helping them arrive with the right paperwork and avoid last-minute hurdles.
In the meantime, airport management is asking the European Commission for permission to revert to manual stamping when queues exceed 45 minutes, something France was allowed to do briefly over Easter. For global-mobility teams the implications are immediate. Travel coordinators at several multinationals told The Brussels Times they are already adding two-hour buffers to itineraries for inbound assignees and advising VIP travellers to book the airport’s paid “Priority Lane” service. Event organisers bringing non-EU delegates to Brussels-based EU institutions are pushing for group pre-enrolment, a feature of the EES that remains in pilot mode. Longer term, companies fear the reputational damage to Belgium’s main hub could deter conference planners and high-value tourists. The airport insists the crisis is temporary, but with summer schedules projecting 85,000 passengers a day—the highest since 2019—mobility managers are bracing for a turbulent few months.
For travellers looking to minimise uncertainty around documentation and border procedures, VisaHQ can step in as a one-stop facilitator. The company’s Belgium portal (https://www.visahq.com/belgium/) lets business and leisure visitors check real-time entry rules, arrange visas, and receive alerts about EES developments, helping them arrive with the right paperwork and avoid last-minute hurdles.
In the meantime, airport management is asking the European Commission for permission to revert to manual stamping when queues exceed 45 minutes, something France was allowed to do briefly over Easter. For global-mobility teams the implications are immediate. Travel coordinators at several multinationals told The Brussels Times they are already adding two-hour buffers to itineraries for inbound assignees and advising VIP travellers to book the airport’s paid “Priority Lane” service. Event organisers bringing non-EU delegates to Brussels-based EU institutions are pushing for group pre-enrolment, a feature of the EES that remains in pilot mode. Longer term, companies fear the reputational damage to Belgium’s main hub could deter conference planners and high-value tourists. The airport insists the crisis is temporary, but with summer schedules projecting 85,000 passengers a day—the highest since 2019—mobility managers are bracing for a turbulent few months.
