Airport Chaos Erupts as EU’s New Border System Sparks Massive Delays

Since the launch of the new European Union’s digital entry and exit system (EES), intended to strengthen border security and streamline controls, reinforce the fight against document fraud or exceeding the legal limit of 90 days within any 180-day period, the queues at Brussels Airport are getting longer and longer. Non-European travelers are living a nightmare. At Brussels-Zaventem Airport, some non-Europeans have reported waiting nearly three hours to go through border control, compared to just a few minutes on average before, Air Journal reports.

The wait is becoming unbearable for passengers. American Rebecca Wells describes "considerably longer queues than for European citizens" and a scene of confusion. "No one was there to explain to us what was happening," she laments to Brussels Times. She adds: "My passport was even manually stamped, despite the new system." While the new EES system is being criticized, the Belgian Federal Police justifies these delays by "a combination of factors." In Belgium, the federal police are responsible for implementing the new system. Brussels Airport Company is ensuring the deployment of the necessary infrastructure.

This system, put in place after several years of preparation, should gradually replace the manual stamping of passports. It is comparable to what has existed for more than 15 years in the United States with the US-VISIT program. It should make controls more efficient and safer, by helping to prevent illegal immigration and protect European citizens, but also facilitate faster detection of document fraud and allow the development of faster and more comfortable automated and self-service controls. The new Entry/Exit system is one of the components of the European border management package.

Recently, Brussels-Zaventem Airport has inaugurated 12 new border control booths upon arrival, 33 cameras for facial image capture, 61 automated check-in kiosks and 36 new e-gates, which should accompany the ramp-up of the new system while maintaining passenger traffic fluidity.