From here
Prompted by output on some UK news outlet yesterday about Eurostar stopping running trains to Disneyland Paris once the photo taking/biometric scanning of EES arrives… Link
Ignoring the BREXIT hyperbole, which this really isn’t since the system was planned way before this for third country access, I wonder what impact with will have on GA arrivals into the EU from the UK?
Having skimmed through some EU LISA papers they have considered from a technical standpoint how to perform checks for vehicle, passenger, small vessel arrivals using mobile equipment, so in theory as long as this equipment has been deployed to the various outposts the current PNR system should remain valid. The question will be whether it is economical for a country to do this, or will the the number of entry ports/airports reduce further?
That link sounds like they want to cut lossmaking routes, and brexit is a great excuse.
I did some googling and found this and this. It could be a huge thing indeed (in terms of reducing available airports of entry) or it could fizzle out.
However, AFAICS, most “border” points already have a means of scanning a passport; even at Mali Losinj they do that. Scanning the retina could be done similarly. The existing scanners must already be connected to some database.
It’s not different to this? for different reasons though but it’s for economical reasons rather than anything else
Eurostar stopped trains between Paris-Ashford last year, only StPancras is available now…
https://londonist.com/london/transport/the-rise-and-fall-of-ashford-international-station
For GA, my understanding it will make things better at least from speaking to an aerodrome manager and customs (who do immigration in typical French GA PoE airports), the first time is likely to be painful but things are likely to get very easy later on, my understanding, French law code is getting updated with EES & ETIAS legislations for Schengen Border Code but nothing has come out yet, Aerodromes laws will get updated after
The critical part is going to be the scanning infrastructure and how rapidly it is deployed. It’s fairly easily and cost effective to provide a stamp and some ink. The onus is fairly much on the pilot to ensure they get stamp correctly to avoid a possible world of pain later on (I know), but in reality with the “stamp” method in takes a fairly dedicated border agent to actually go through the passport of every visitor and cross reference the stamps and perform the mental arithmetic to ensure you are not exceeding any entry restriction in terms of x days in y.
Once the system is automated, failing to get scanned in and out correctly is going to make any future trips, GA or otherwise a very painful experience.
Once the system is automated, failing to get scanned in and out correctly is going to make any future trips, GA or otherwise a very painful experience.
We will have to wait and see how EES exceptions are dealt with? especially for GA on PoE with temporary presence but it’s likely the same as missing stamps as of now (non event really as the law deal with it but burden on pilot to compile evidences), on the bright side you will be sending ETIAS and likely getting remote clearance to enter/exit without need for someone to physically come or stamp, unless the pilot is an “interesting subject”…
I doubt ETIAS will need 48h PN unlike the case for GA 48h PN on weekends, it impacts lot of people !
It’s fairly easily and cost effective to provide a stamp and some ink
I may well be wrong but the passport scanners are everywhere I recall going to recently. The passport stamp is just a ritual and mismatched stamps are common and therefore acceptable.
Once the system is automated, failing to get scanned in and out correctly is going to make any future trips, GA or otherwise a very painful experience.
I agree, but surely the passport scanning ought to do that job too – already. And I don’t think it is being implemented; if it was, I would have been arrested a number of times already, upon entering (usually) France.
As one small example, if you filed for say Le Touquet and diverted to Lydd because LeT had a big CB sitting on it, how the hell would that be resolved? You would be arrested on your next EU entry, if it was > 6 months after that fateful trip.
Peter wrote:
However, AFAICS, most “border” points already have a means of scanning a passport; even at Mali Losinj they do that.
This can be done quite easily. When I entered Schengen at Venice/Lido from Croatia the other year, our passports were scanned using a mobile phone!
Its not just about scanning the passport is it.
At Stansted for instance you put your passport on the glass plate and you look into a camera which checks that you are the person on the passport.
At Nantes you have a border force official who puts the passport on a scanner and at the same time checks that you match the picture in the passport.
There has to be this X reference which is what this eye scanner is supposed to do.
All I know is that the EU auto-scanners worked just fine on a British “EU biometric” passport until about 9+ months after official Brexit at which point someone noticed they still worked and turned that facility off so that they no longer worked. I travel about twice a month through either CDG or AMS out of Europe so know from personal experience that this is the case. I cant see that it would be difficult to turn that facility back on again… at least for those with the British “EU biometric” passport – of course now the new british passports are a different colour, but are they really any different to before?
Regards, SD..
My understanding is that the passport will be scanned and electronic record of the arrival made, presumably checking the passport matches the person presenting it. Additionally a photo will taken along with fingerprints. So just like we go through arriving in the US now.
Certainly the technology to take this “mobile” is not rocket science, the question is will it be deployed in the needed places for a small number of “customers”. Ie. light GA and some other people crossing the channel in slightly more expensive boats and shoes than the ones the press are so keen to talk about.
