After more than a decade since it met all the technical conditions, Romania entered the Schengen area with air and sea borders. From midnight, air travel between member states of the free movement area is faster, without document control. So does air or sea freight. This means about a third of the total goods transiting Romania. The first fully operated flight without border control from the Schengen area was from Vienna, something “slightly ironic”, said the spokesperson of the National Airport Company, Valentin Iordache.
Dan Musat travels frequently in Europe and beyond. He was among the first Romanians to arrive from the country exactly at midnight.
Dan Musat, passenger: “It’s a special feeling, I took out my passport for nothing. It is a very good feeling to feel like a European citizen. I’m coming from Vienna now, but I actually came from New York”.
More than 130 passengers of the flight from the capital that blocked our full membership were, at the top, the first beneficiaries of the Air Schengen member state status.
The spokesperson of the National Airport Company, Valentin Iordache, said that this is “slightly ironic”, referring to the Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna, alluding to the fact that Austria is the country that opposes the full admission of Romania to Schengen.
“The first passengers to enter without border control this evening are some of the passengers on a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt. There were 92 passengers. About 20 of them did not pass through the border control, because it was 0:00. The first fully operated flight without border control in the Schengen area is, slightly ironically, the Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna”, said Valentin Iordache, according to News.ro.
After document checks became history, now border teams will patrol the airport and can do random checks, especially on travelers with minors, who have special treatment.
The new rules are valid at all 16 international airports in Romania.
Controls at Romania’s Schengen road borders still remain in force, a huge problem during vacation or holiday periods. But also a massive loss in terms of freight. Next week, the Romanian Minister of the Interior will travel to Vienna, where he will discuss with his counterpart including full integration. The governors in Bucharest hope to get a clear deadline for land accession by the end of the year.
Publisher: AC
Tags: Romania Schengen air race border control Bucharest Austria slightly ironic
