An open letter published on 3 July 2026 by leading European airport and airline associations warns that the EU’s new Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES)—fully activated in April—has already generated border queues of up to five hours and risks "crippling" the peak summer season. Although the plea is directed at the European Commission, it has immediate implications for Brazilian companies whose staff transit through Europe en route to third countries or who attend post-sales meetings within the EU. The letter notes that biometric kiosks and manual counters are processing passengers 40 % slower than forecast, forcing some airports to marshal travellers into car-park overflow zones. Carriers report flights departing with dozens of empty seats because passengers were still stuck at passport control. Stakeholders are demanding a temporary suspension of the system until additional staff and e-gates are in place. For Brazilian nationals—who require an ETIAS travel authorisation but not a visa—EES means fingerprints and a facial scan are captured at first entry and stored for three years.
![European Airports Urged to Pause New Entry/Exit System as Five-Hour Queues Hit Summer Traffic]()
In this context, Brazilian mobility managers may find it helpful to tap VisaHQ’s online services, where up-to-date guidance on ETIAS registration, Schengen border formalities and destination-specific transit rules is aggregated in one dashboard. The company’s specialists can pre-validate passport data, flag upcoming biometric requirements and advise on alternative routing—support that can shave precious minutes off connection times.
Frequent flyers complain that officers often re-take prints because scanners fail to match records, adding several minutes per person. Travel-management companies in São Paulo and Rio say corporate itineraries now budget four hours for connections at Paris-CDG or Frankfurt, up from two hours last year. Missed connections have risen 23 % since May, triggering extra hotel and re-ticketing costs that hit mobility budgets. The Brazilian Association of Travel Agencies (ABAV) recommends that travellers carry printed proof of onward reservations and arrive at departure halls earlier than airline guidelines. If Brussels agrees to a pause, carriers expect a phased re-launch later in 2027. Until then, mobility managers should monitor airport contingency plans and consider routing travellers through Madrid or Lisbon, whose dedicated lanes for Lusophone passport holders are processing passengers more quickly.
In this context, Brazilian mobility managers may find it helpful to tap VisaHQ’s online services, where up-to-date guidance on ETIAS registration, Schengen border formalities and destination-specific transit rules is aggregated in one dashboard. The company’s specialists can pre-validate passport data, flag upcoming biometric requirements and advise on alternative routing—support that can shave precious minutes off connection times.
Frequent flyers complain that officers often re-take prints because scanners fail to match records, adding several minutes per person. Travel-management companies in São Paulo and Rio say corporate itineraries now budget four hours for connections at Paris-CDG or Frankfurt, up from two hours last year. Missed connections have risen 23 % since May, triggering extra hotel and re-ticketing costs that hit mobility budgets. The Brazilian Association of Travel Agencies (ABAV) recommends that travellers carry printed proof of onward reservations and arrive at departure halls earlier than airline guidelines. If Brussels agrees to a pause, carriers expect a phased re-launch later in 2027. Until then, mobility managers should monitor airport contingency plans and consider routing travellers through Madrid or Lisbon, whose dedicated lanes for Lusophone passport holders are processing passengers more quickly.
