Travelers walk next to newly installed signs pointing to Schengen transfer flights areas, minutes after midnight, just after Romania’s official entry into the European area of free circulation at Otopeni’s “Henri Coanda” international airport on March 31, 2024.Bulgaria and Romania joined Europe’s vast Schengen area of free movement on Sunday, opening up travel by air and sea without border checks after a 13-year wait.
“We got to the terminal in less than three minutes, including baggage check,” she said. “It’s a real improvement”.Admission to Schengen is an “important milestone” for Bulgaria and Romania, symbolising a “question of dignity, of belonging to the European Union”, according to foreign policy analyst Stefan Popescu.
Romania’s government said Schengen rules would apply to four seaports and 17 airports, with the Otopeni airport near the capital Bucharest serving as the biggest hub for Schengen flights.More staff including border police and immigration officers will be deployed to airports to “support passengers and detect those who want to take advantage to leave Romania illegally”, it added.
Croatia, which joined the EU after Romania and Bulgaria, beat them to becoming Schengen’s 27th member in January 2023.While some have reason to celebrate, truck drivers, faced with endless queues at the borders with their European neighbours, feel left out.