EU Commissioner urges Brussels Airport border queues to be resolved before Christmas

European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner has called for lengthy airport border-control queues to be resolved before the Christmas travel period, singling out Brussels Airport over delays associated with the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES). His remarks were reported by Politico and subsequently covered by other outlets. 

Brunner defended the digital border system, arguing that Member States had agreed to its introduction and had sufficient time to prepare. He said national authorities must ensure it operates effectively, stressing its importance for security.

The intervention follows waits of up to five hours at Brussels Airport’s passport controls in late September, which the airport confirmed. Changes to processing procedures have meant that travellers from some countries, including the United States, must pass through staffed booths after using registration kiosks, increasing pressure on border-control capacity.

Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin’s office said all 12 arrivals control positions were staffed. It argued that the infrastructure could process only 500–600 passengers arriving from outside Schengen per hour, while almost 3,500 could arrive between 06:00 and 10:00 on busy days. Brussels Airport said the parties involved were working on improvements, including testing automated gates and pre-registration kiosks, training additional border officers and assessing infrastructure needs.

The Commissioner’s call comes as ACI EUROPE and Airlines for Europe demand operational and regulatory reforms to the EES. In a joint statement on 12 October, the industry bodies warned that persistent queues were causing missed flights and connections, and proposed measures including improved biometric processing, wider use of automated controls and flexibility to suspend biometric registration during excessive congestion.

Sources: UA.NEWS, brusselstimes.com