Air Schengen. There is very little time left until the traveling Romanians will have a new experience as passengers. This will be a simplified one. Valentin Iordache, the spokesperson of the Bucharest National Airports Company (CNAB), explains what we can expect.
Air Schengen March 31. The travel experience is simplified for Romanians
Air Schengen. There is little left until March 31, when Romania, and implicitly its citizens, will be officially included in the air Schengen Area. So, soon, part of the Schengen dream will materialize. As a result, passengers will be able to go directly to the boarding gates, without the need for a Border Police check.
It is important to note that the security screening process remains mandatory when traveling by air, regardless of the nature of the flight – whether it is a domestic, international, Schengen or non-Schengen flight.
“Passengers will still go to the check-in desk, if they didn’t do it from home,” says Valentin Iordache.
Valentin Iordache, the press representative of Compania Nationale Aeroporturi Bucharest (CNAB), provided, in a recent interview, a detailed guide to the differences between Schengen and non-Schengen passengers. Iordache explained the main changes introduced as of March 31.
However, he emphasized that after March 31, when Romania will officially enter the air and maritime Schengen Area, the passenger experience will become simpler and more fluid.
According to the spokesperson, passengers will still be required to carry identification documents for identification upon boarding. Whether it’s a passport or a report card.
“It’s more complicated for us at the airport because we have several different streams to manage, we don’t have to let the streams mix, but that’s up to our internal kitchen.
What do passengers see? – Well, those who leave for a Schengen destination will no longer go through border control. That’s about all they’ll see. But, they will still go to the check-in desk, if they didn’t do it from home or if they have hold luggage to hand over”, explained Valentin Iordache.
Valentin Iordache explains the journey of travelers to airports, starting from March 31
People going to a Schengen destination are no longer subject to border control. Instead, they won’t escape the check-in desk or baggage drop-off, nor the security check upon departure.
“They will still go through the security check upon departure, which is mandatory for any flight – regardless of whether it is domestic, international, Schengen, non-Schengen. After the security check, passengers can go directly to the boarding gate. What is the advantage? They will no longer stand in line at the Border Patrol, where they could wait for, say, two to as long as 20 minutes during certain busier periods.
Passengers will, however, have to carry identity documents, in order to be identified upon boarding. I mean, you don’t get on the plane like you do on a tram, but you present your boarding pass and an identity document, whether we’re talking about a passport or an identity card, because we all know there’s quite a lot of overlap between the space Schengen and the European Union.
Basically, in the EU you can only travel with the ticket and in a few other states. So, that we have an identity card or that we have a passport, it will have to be presented at the boarding gate”, claims the CNAB representative for Gândul.
Facilities for travel to destinations outside the Schengen area
Valentin Iordache also detailed the procedure for passengers traveling to non-Schengen destinations. After passing the border control, they will benefit from certain facilities.
Valentin Iordache emphasized that passengers arriving from the Schengen area are directed to the airport terminal, where they are no longer subject to any additional control. Thus, they can go directly to the baggage claim area or, if they have no baggage to claim, they can go out to the public area of the airport without any other formalities.
“Well, they (no – passengers going to a non-Schengen destination) will go through the entire Schengen area – after they go through security, they go through the Schengen area – where they can shop and stop at a restaurant if they want. They will then go through a border control – just like before – only the counters are lined up a little further, towards the end of the boarding area.
After passing this border control, they still have commercial and public catering facilities available, and the non-Schengen boarding gates are also there.
What happens on the way back? Passengers coming from the Schengen area are disembarked from the plane, arrive at the terminal and then go through no control. Basically, they have free access to the baggage claim area, where they get their checked baggage, if they have it, if not, they can go out into the public area and go about their business.
Non-Schengen passengers will enter the terminal, pass a border control that is relocated to an area much closer to the end of the terminal, and after that they will also pass freely to the public area,” he added.
Travelers will save valuable time in the absence of border control
Valentin Iordache emphasizes that non-Schengen passengers are treated with care and professionalism at Otopeni Airport. He mentions that the most elegant area of the Otopeni terminal, from the entrance to boarding, is mainly intended for non-Schengen passengers.
“The big advantage, we say, is that the same rules apply to the countries we travel to from the Schengen area. I mean, once you get off the plane, let’s say from Paris airport, you don’t go through any control until you get to the public area.
We’ve all had rather unpleasant experiences where we had to wait more than an hour at border control because we were coming from outside the Schengen area because there were one or two border officers doing the control and there were two or three full planes, which arrived simultaneously at the respective airport”, stated the spokesperson of CNAB.
The spokesperson of the Bucharest National Airports Company (CNAB) states that in 2011, Otopeni Airport registered approximately 7 million passengers, including those coming from Baneasa Airport after the traffic was moved. Instead, in 2024, there is talk of a number of 15 million passengers.
“Similarly, when returning from a Schengen country, we will use the Schengen terminal, which is usually more elegant at the airports in the West, offering all the commercial and public catering facilities and pleasant spending of the remaining time until boarding.
And most importantly, we no longer have to rush to pass the border control, where quite long queues form again,” he added.
Most travelers are Schengen passengers
Valentin Iordache provided more information on how non-Schengen passengers are treated at Otopeni.
“If you ask me as an airport person, I see this advantage, especially in Western airports, which do not treat non-Schengen passengers very well and very pleasantly, because most of their passengers are Schengen passengers. We are also, somehow, in this situation, because most of our passengers are Schengen passengers. We also treat non-Schengen passengers very well, because the most elegant area of the Otopeni boarding terminal is the non-Schengen area
But, this is how it came out of the project, made many years ago and completed 13 years ago. I would like to make one more clarification, namely the fact that the Otopeni terminal – the boarding area of the terminal – was designed and executed for Schengen-non-Schengen operation. It was completed in 2011. Because it was designed this way, the space for border control – both for departures and arrivals – was very small, as it only addressed 30% of the total traffic.
We have had to, throughout this period of 13 years – from the initial moment when we were supposed to enter Schengen until now – to ensure processing conditions for all passengers on the international flow and on departure and arrival. Which created a lot of headaches for us over time because the traffic increased. In 2011, it was somewhere – let’s say 7 million, including those who came from Băneasa, when all the traffic was moved to Otopeni – now we are talking about 15 million passengers, all of whom must be processed”, he added.
Limited border processing capacity for a few days
Valentin Iordache added that in light of these changes, there will be limited processing capacity at the border in the coming days as more urgent work is underway.
“One more thing, for the next few days we’re going to have limited capacity on border processing because there’s some work that had to be done now. For example, moving the automatic control gates for those who possess biometric passports, also on the flow of departures, but to the non-Schengen area, from the current position.
Automatically, processing capacity on departures decreased. We still have four days with relatively reduced capacity. Likewise on arrivals, a few counters had to be relocated and there the capacity is a little reduced. There will still be queues at peak times, especially in the afternoon, but we still have four days. It has to be a little worse before it’s really good,” said Valentin Iordache.
