Just four months after the Entry/Exit System (EES) went live, airports across Europe are struggling with the added time required to register non-EU passengers – and Belgium is no exception. A report published on Monday by Cyprus Business News highlights mounting complaints from airlines and airport operators about 90-second processing times per traveller, compared with the 15-second passport stamp of the past. At Brussels Airport, corporate travel management company BlueBiz recorded average queuing times of 45 minutes for flights arriving from the United Kingdom and the United States over the weekend of 24-25 July. Airport spokesperson Nathalie Pierard said an extra 20 border officers had been deployed and that the airport’s 24 automated kiosks would be increased to 40 before the autumn conferences bring another wave of business visitors. The knock-on effects are felt far beyond passport control. Airlines report delayed push-back slots, missed connections and additional crew-duty costs. According to the Brussels chapter of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), some multinationals are already scheduling senior executives to arrive a day earlier to guarantee on-time attendance at board meetings. Belgian tour operator connections point to a learning curve: many travellers have yet to realise that the first EES registration can take several minutes. Travel risk advisers recommend building in at least one extra hour for transfers at Schengen gateways this summer. While the EES is designed to strengthen security and prevent over-stay, the Commission accepts that airports face a challenging transition. Brussels Airport says it will roll out a real-time “smart queue” app in August so that travellers – and duty managers – can see how long the formalities will take before leaving the lounge.
Source: Cyprus Business News (CBN)
