German-language daily GrenzEcho reported long lines "extending onto the tarmac" at several Belgian international airports on Monday as the EU’s digital Entry/Exit System (EES) reached its first big holiday test. Passengers arriving at Brussels and Charleroi from non-Schengen countries faced waits of up to five hours as biometric kiosks struggled with peak-season volumes. EES, fully operational since April 2026, replaces manual passport stamping with fingerprint and facial-scan registration for third-country nationals. While Brussels Airport completed most of its hardware rollout in May, the paper notes that software lags and uneven staffing mean the registration step is still taking “significantly longer than projected”, especially for first-time visitors. Belgian border police confirmed that, under EU rules, parts of the biometric process can be suspended for six-hour windows if queues become unmanageable, and that this fallback was invoked twice over the weekend. Carriers complain that the stop-start approach only adds scheduling uncertainty, forcing them to hold departing aircraft until connecting passengers clear immigration. For corporate mobility managers the new reality is clear: travellers from the UK, US and most Asian markets should be briefed to expect first-entry registration delays and advised to download the EU pre-registration app once it becomes available. In the meantime, companies are encouraging employees to book earlier trains or late-evening flights out of Brussels to preserve connection buffers. Belgium’s federal interior ministry says additional e-gates will be installed at Brussels Airport by mid-August, and that a dedicated “business lane” pilot will be tested with priority-pass customers. Until then, airlines and passengers alike will have to navigate a summer of teething problems as the Schengen area modernises its border architecture.
Source: GrenzEcho
