The European Commission has activated a new “information alert” category inside the Schengen Information System (SIS) that lets EU member states, including Belgium, enter intelligence supplied by trusted non-EU partners about suspected terrorists and serious criminals. Border guards at Brussels Airport, the Port of Antwerp and land crossings with France, Germany and the Netherlands began receiving the live feed at 06:00 CET on 15 October. Previously, third-country data could only be stored in Europol files and forwarded manually. Under the upgrade, customs or police officers scanning a passport will see an immediate hit if—for example—the U.S. FBI, INTERPOL or the U.K.’s National Crime Agency has flagged the traveller. The alert contains minimum biographic data, fingerprints/face images and a secure link back to the supplying agency for follow-up. All hits are automatically routed into Belgium’s National Schengen Bureau for confirmation, shortening what used to be a 20-minute cross-check to under two minutes. The move comes amid heightened security around the European Council summit in Brussels and follows last month’s shooting in Rotterdam. Belgium’s Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden said the country would “systematically feed return intelligence from deportation flights and foreign-fighter trials” into the new alert type. Transport operators must prepare for slightly longer inspection times: the Federal Police Aviation Service estimates that each red-flag secondary check adds three to five minutes per passenger, potentially affecting first-wave departures. Companies running shuttles to neighbouring countries should also note that France and Germany intend to use the alerts for random on-board ID inspections during their temporary border-control periods later this autumn. Data-protection authorities will audit the Belgian implementation in January. Until then, carriers are advised to re-check API/PNR data quality to minimise false matches and ensure travellers with similar names carry secondary identifiers such as middle initials or known-traveller numbers.
