Arrangements can vary around the globe but most of us will be aware of the issue with taking liquids on aircraft.
Many of the ATA carnets we supply will be for situations where people also need to travel, or their goods travel with them. That your carnet has saved time is a good start but there could be other delays on the horizon.
A couple of changes for travel to Europe will be long term fixtures, the other likely hold up should be temporary.
Liquid Regulations On Aircraft
New security scanners are being installed at UK airports, which will remove the 100ml limit on liquids. You may have heard this before, as various deadlines have been around since 2022 but the latest for June 2024 looks real.
Delays have arisen due to supply chain issues, along with the weight of equipment and a need to reinforce floors. Several UK airports are now up and running but major airports such as Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester could miss the deadline.
They will be in a position where some lanes are on the old system and others the new. A recipe for confusion and one where just a few passengers not being correctly prepared would cause delay for others.
All parties working together and good advance communication may help. We will see if this happens and look forward to longer term improvement, barriers for items such as laptops in bags will be removed alongside liquids.
Travelling To Europe
With the Paris Olympics due this summer and chaos not wanted, France’s wish to hold off on change has prevailed. The EES (biometric entry) system will not be in place until October 2024 and ETIAS (travel authorisation) will follow in mid 2025.
We should bear in mind that as with the liquid scanners, numerous deadlines have existed since 2022. Whether October sees a full EES rollout remains to be seen.
The systems will still come to pass fairly soon and affect UK travellers. We are not EU/Schengen citizens and unless legally resident in the EU, or holding a long term visa, both new aspects will apply.
The EU Entry/Exit System (EES)
This will be an automated, biometrically based system for registering travellers from non EU countries. When entering, or leaving the EU, people will need to scan their passports at a kiosk, rather than having them inspected, or stamped.
Although the UK now issues biometric passports, the probability is that all non-EU/Schengen citizens will have their fingerprints and facial images taken.
The system registers this data, the person’s name, type of the travel document, date and place of entry, or exit. The theory is that once on the system, new biometric data will only be needed periodically, possibly every three years.
EU Travel Information & Authorisation System (ETIAS)
ETIAS is intended to ensure compliance with the Schengen rules on permitted length of stay and to record overstays, or entry refusals.
In principle just a case of using an app, or online facility. You will be checked against EU border and security information databases and in most cases, a travel authorisation will be issued within minutes.
Where authorisation is not forthcoming, the EU are warning people of a possible 30 day delay for further checks. This alone could cause problems for unfortunate people, although is not the only concern.
Potential Effects
The UK government has reciprocal agreements with France, where French authorities can operate border checks at UK departure points, or the other way around. The potential for this not working well has been raised by those involved.
Ireland and the UK have a Common Travel Area, not connected to Schengen. Ireland’s current answer is not to operate EES, or ETIAS but this may not last.
Airlines will be required to verify each passenger’s travel eligibility 48 hours before departure. More admin and duplication of visa procedures, also an end to last minute flights, which are a fair part of airline revenue.
Eurotunnel are estimating that the average time to process a car will rise from under 60 seconds to 5 or 6 minutes. They have also needed to spend £70 million pounds on biometric equipment and as with others, find space for this.
Opinions on EES and ETIAS vary, from good system in waiting, to recipe for disaster. Time will tell, at least we can guarantee your goods a smooth journey.