Brussels Airport Urges European Commission to Ease Entry/exit System Rollout

(BRUSSELS, BELGIUM) — Brussels Airport urged Belgian ministers on March 30, 2026, to seek flexibility from the European Commission in the rollout of the European Union’s Entry/Exit System, saying the new border regime had already driven waits of up to 2 hours at departures and more than 3 hours at arrivals for non-EU passengers.

The airport said those disruptions led to 600 missed flights over four days and total delays of 21 hours, placing fresh pressure on border operations just days before the system is due to reach full implementation on April 10, 2026.

Brussels Airport welcomed Belgium’s postponement of biometric data registration. Even so, it said ministers should press for a phased approach before the Entry/Exit System, or EES, requires 100% of non-EU travelers to register across the Schengen Area.

That appeal comes as the bloc moves toward a border shift that replaces passport stamps with digital biometric records for non-EU nationals. The system began phasing in at Brussels in October 2025, when 60% of non-EU registration started at the airport.

Under the regulatory framework, the European Council enabled a 6-month phase-in without biometrics initially. The EES rollout is due to be followed later by ETIAS pre-authorization.

Brussels Airport’s intervention focused on operational strain rather than the underlying aim of the system. By March 30, processing times per passenger without biometric registration were still producing 1-hour waits at departures and nearly 2-hour waits at arrivals.

Airport officials also pointed to a rule barring nationals of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Singapore from using e-gates at departures. That has forced all non-EU passengers in those categories through manned counters, adding pressure to staffing and passenger flows.

At the same time, the airport said chronic understaffing of federal police at border posts continued despite ministerial efforts. That combination of staffing shortages, manual processing and the coming expansion of registration requirements has made the Brussels hub one of the clearest examples of the challenge facing the bloc’s external border system.

The airport’s request was narrowly framed. It asked for e-gate access to resume for select third-country nationals at both arrivals and departures when feasible, called for all border posts to be fully staffed, and urged a smoother rollout that could be tested operationally before summer passenger peaks.

Those proposals reflect a wider concern that a hard switch to full EES registration could intensify delays rather than ease them. Brussels Airport linked its warning to problems seen in other EU countries during the rollout, arguing that the summer travel season leaves little room for prolonged bottlenecks at passport control.

The timing is sensitive for Belgium because the country has already delayed the biometric part of the process even as the wider Schengen timetable moves ahead. Brussels Airport welcomed that postponement, but its message on March 30 made clear that the relief had not solved the larger problem of how border checks would work once the full system takes hold on April 10, 2026.

For travelers, the immediate impact has appeared in queues, missed departures and longer airport dwell times. The airport’s figures showed the effect in stark terms: up to 2-hour waits at departures, over 3 hours at arrivals, 600 missed flights over four days and total delays of 21 hours.

Those numbers came after months of staged implementation rather than a single-day launch. Since October 2025, Brussels has operated within the phased introduction of EES, including an initial 60% non-EU registration requirement at the airport.

Earlier in that rollout, industry groups had already flagged three problem areas: understaffing, technical glitches and low use of the Frontex app during a 35% registration phase. Brussels Airport’s latest warning suggests those earlier concerns have not fully receded as the system nears its next deadline.

The airport’s operational complaints centered on two choke points. First, each passenger has taken longer to process without biometric registration. Second, the departure-side ban on e-gate use for citizens of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Singapore has shifted more travelers into manual channels.

That dual effect matters because departure halls and arrival controls operate on tight timing, especially at a hub handling large volumes of short-haul and long-haul traffic. Even without full biometric capture in place, waits on March 30 still stood at 1 hour for departures and nearly 2 hours for arrivals.

Brussels Airport’s preferred remedy does not call for scrapping the Entry/Exit System. Instead, it asks for the kind of flexibility that would let border authorities restore some e-gate access, bring staffing to full strength and test the system in conditions closer to the summer rush before every non-EU traveler must register.

That request places the European Commission at the center of the next decision. Brussels Airport said Belgian ministers should raise the issue with the Commission as the bloc approaches the final phase of implementation.

The airport’s position also highlights the gap between legal rollout and day-to-day airport operations. On paper, the EES is a digitization project designed to replace passport stamps with digital biometric records for non-EU nationals across the Schengen Area.

In practice, the transition has depended on whether airports, border police and technical systems can absorb the extra steps without slowing traffic to a standstill. At Brussels, the airport’s own figures suggest the answer remains unsettled less than two weeks before April 10, 2026.

The European Council’s decision to permit a 6-month phase-in without biometrics initially was meant to ease that transition. Yet Brussels Airport’s latest account indicates that delays have remained pronounced even under that more gradual model.

That has sharpened the airport’s argument that a stricter timetable should be matched with more operational flexibility. Its call for testing before the summer peaks reflects a concern that an unadjusted rollout could repeat or worsen the problems already seen during the phased introduction.

The airport also tied its concerns to staffing levels on the government side. Chronic understaffing of federal police at border posts has remained part of the problem despite ministerial efforts, leaving fewer personnel to handle a process that now requires more manual intervention for some travelers.

Resuming e-gate access for select third-country nationals, in the airport’s view, would help relieve part of that pressure at both arrivals and departures when feasible. Full staffing of all border posts would address another part. A more measured operational rollout before peak season would address the rest.

The stakes extend beyond one airport because Brussels sits inside a Schengen-wide system that is moving toward full participation by non-EU travelers. On April 10, 2026, 100% of non-EU travelers must register across the Schengen Area under the timetable cited by the airport.

ETIAS pre-authorization is due later, making EES the first stage in a broader change to how the bloc tracks short-term arrivals from outside the EU. For now, though, Brussels Airport’s warning is focused on a simpler question: whether border systems can process passengers fast enough once the rules tighten again.

Its March 30 message leaves little doubt about the scale of the strain already visible at Brussels Airport. With 600 missed flights over four days, total delays of 21 hours, and queues stretching to more than 3 hours for some arriving non-EU passengers, the airport is asking Belgium and the European Commission to slow the pace of the Entry/Exit System rollout before the summer crowds test it even harder.