BRUSSELS: Non-European passengers arriving at Brussels Airport faced waiting times of up to three hours at border control during peak morning hours on Thursday as authorities implemented the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System amid heavy seasonal passenger traffic.
Airport spokesperson Jeffrey Franssens confirmed the delays, saying non-European travellers experienced queues lasting as long as three hours.
Meanwhile, European citizens using automated passport-control gates faced considerably shorter delays, generally waiting between 30 and 60 minutes.
New Entry/Exit System Adds Biometric Checks
Airport officials attributed much of the disruption to the rollout of the EU’s Entry/Exit System, known as EES.
The digital border-management system electronically registers non-European nationals entering and leaving the Schengen Area. It replaces traditional physical passport stamps with biometric procedures, including fingerprint collection and facial scans.
Franssens said the new registration process requires officials to complete more steps for each passenger.
Consequently, queues can build rapidly when large numbers of travellers arrive within a short period.
Additional Border Officers Struggle With Passenger Surge
The Belgian government had deployed additional Aviation Police personnel ahead of the summer travel season to operate all available border-control booths.
However, Brussels Airport said the additional workforce remained insufficient during periods of particularly high passenger volumes.
Furthermore, the seasonal return of holidaymakers added to pressure on border-control facilities during Thursday’s busy morning period.
The delays highlight the operational challenges airports can face while introducing new biometric border procedures alongside high passenger traffic.
Nevertheless, European passengers continued to benefit from automated passport gates, significantly reducing their waiting times compared with travellers required to complete the new EES registration procedures.
