A high-level Consultation Committee bringing together Belgium’s federal, regional and Brussels-Capital authorities failed on 19 May 2026 to agree short-term measures for the chronic queues at Brussels Airport passport control. Despite pleas from Flemish Minister-President Matthias Diependaele for additional aviation-police staff, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said the problem is structural: only six inspection booths exist, with room for at most twelve officers even if recruits were available. Passenger wait times have regularly exceeded 45 minutes during the morning long-haul bank—an acute issue for connecting travellers and airline on-time performance metrics.
![Deadlock on Brussels Airport Passport Queues Leaves Business Travellers Waiting]()
If you’re trying to minimize unexpected holdups, VisaHQ can help by clarifying Belgium’s current entry requirements, securing visas well in advance and advising on fast-track options where available—visit https://www.visahq.com/belgium/ to see how their specialists can smooth the paperwork so the only queue you face is the one at the airport.
Airlines have lobbied for automated e-gates, but infrastructure upgrades require a multi-year tender that Flanders, the airport’s majority shareholder, is reluctant to fund without staffing guarantees. The committee agreed to reconvene on 27 May after a working group analyses traffic-flow simulations and a potential temporary marquee to house additional control desks. Noise-abatement disputes over runway 07L also remain unresolved, complicating any plan to re-route arrivals to spread the load across terminals. For mobility managers the message is clear: advise assignees and visiting executives to allow at least an extra hour for Schengen exit formalities at Brussels Airport. Companies scheduling same-day onward rail or regional flights should build larger buffers into travel policies until a durable fix is in place.
If you’re trying to minimize unexpected holdups, VisaHQ can help by clarifying Belgium’s current entry requirements, securing visas well in advance and advising on fast-track options where available—visit https://www.visahq.com/belgium/ to see how their specialists can smooth the paperwork so the only queue you face is the one at the airport.
Airlines have lobbied for automated e-gates, but infrastructure upgrades require a multi-year tender that Flanders, the airport’s majority shareholder, is reluctant to fund without staffing guarantees. The committee agreed to reconvene on 27 May after a working group analyses traffic-flow simulations and a potential temporary marquee to house additional control desks. Noise-abatement disputes over runway 07L also remain unresolved, complicating any plan to re-route arrivals to spread the load across terminals. For mobility managers the message is clear: advise assignees and visiting executives to allow at least an extra hour for Schengen exit formalities at Brussels Airport. Companies scheduling same-day onward rail or regional flights should build larger buffers into travel policies until a durable fix is in place.
