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Schengen Area security delays

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Any views on how this will effect travelling to ski resorts in the Schengen Area, as it was probably introduced too late in the season to get proper feedback?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
My guess is that it won't make a massive difference. From memory, all German, Austrian and Swiss airports check passports by computer anyway. I suspect French do the same now anyway. even so, by the time the season starts they should have sorted themselves out. Maybe it will be a problem for the little airports like Chambery.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
foxtrotzulu wrote:
Maybe it will be a problem for the little airports like Chambery.

That's an image that I don't want to contemplate....by the time you made it through the chaos, it would be time to queue to come home! Toofy Grin
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Came through Zurich a few days ago - completely normal.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Geneva Security was fine Tuesday to UK and this morning to France (flying before anyone questions).

Passport control did appear more rigourous than previously...
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Hmm. I was looking at Grenoble for next season's trip to LDA. Could go to Geneva, I guess. Or Lyon. Maybe the teething troubles could be over by the season, anyway.
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
achilles wrote:
Hmm. I was looking at Grenoble for next season's trip to LDA. Could go to Geneva, I guess. Or Lyon. Maybe the teething troubles could be over by the season, anyway.


Hopefully as you say the teething troubles will be over by the start of the winter season.

Apparently the background to this is that the EU has (sensibly) decided to increase border security in the Schengen zone in reponse to the increased terrorist threat, although the necessary resources don't seem to be in place. However it's puzzling that delays are affecting people as they leave the Schengen zone and fly to the UK, I'd have thought that the concern would have been focussed on people entering the Schengen zone. And of course the elephant in the (Schengen) room is that the terrorists, many of whom are EU citizens, and who are already within the Schengen zone are totally free to move between Schengen countries with no border checks as has been amply demonstrated by recent terrorist events (e.g one of the attackers at Paris Bataclan where 130 people were murdered hired a vehicle in Belgium, carried out the Paris attack then travelled back to Belgium; the Berlin truck terrorist who killed 12 travelled from Germany after the attack first to France and then to Italy).
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Put passport in self service passport scanning machine. Wait 5sec. Walk through when the gate opens.
Frankfurt security was a bit more jobsworth though earlier.
What Schengen delays are there?
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Checking people as they leave Schengen gives them two bites of the cherry as they attempt to identify persons of interest.

Whilst advanced passenger information is run through various checks the border people still want to make sure that the passport photo matches the person carrying it...otherwise it is a complete waste of time. So...I think that we can expect a slightly longer wait when entering the Schengen zone...
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andy wrote:

What Schengen delays are there?

Apparently the problem is the very large numbers flying to Spain and Portugal, combined with the more stringent checks both into, and out of the Schengen area. People are being asked to arrive 3 hours early.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/01/passengers-facing-four-hour-security-queues-at-some-european-airports
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Surely the queues and delays at the Eurotunnel at Ashford cant get any worse?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
boredsurfin wrote:
Surely the queues and delays at the Eurotunnel at Ashford cant get any worse?

Everything has the potential to get worse! Sad
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Alastair Pink wrote:
And of course the elephant in the (Schengen) room is that the terrorists, many of whom are EU citizens, and who are already within the Schengen zone are totally free to move between Schengen countries with no border checks as has been amply demonstrated by recent terrorist events (e.g one of the attackers at Paris Bataclan where 130 people were murdered hired a vehicle in Belgium, carried out the Paris attack then travelled back to Belgium; the Berlin truck terrorist who killed 12 travelled from Germany after the attack first to France and then to Italy).


There were lots of checks going on last summer if you wanted to travel from Austria in to Germany - at least through busy crossing points. Last summer may well have been a particular problem though as that was when there were thousands of refugees travelling through Europe. We sat in traffic on the motorway from Salzburg in to Germany for about 2 hours. We then got pulled over by the border guard wanting to look in the back of the van. All was ok and we were on our way.

The annoying thing is that we crossed from Austria in to Germany then back in to Austria with no problems (Saalbach to Hanger 7 at Salzburg airport). It was only when we wanted to carry on our journey back to England a couple of hours later that we got stuck on the motorway. Had we gone back towards Bad Reichenhall (hence already having crossed into Germany) then headed to the motorway we'd have crossed in to Germany without anyone really bothering!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Alastair Pink, surely you are missing the point of Schengen in the first place? Or am I wrong?
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@hammerite, still plenty of border delays at times within the Schengen zone, the border crossing between Austria and Germany at Salzburg and indeed if you are coming from the east into Austria from Slovakia or Hungary. Also had what appeared to be random passport checks from Germany into France recently. The way it goes in the current circumstances I guess.
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Poster: A snowHead
under a new name wrote:
@Alastair Pink, surely you are missing the point of Schengen in the first place? Or am I wrong?


I was merely pointing out that the "point of Schengen" (free movement between countries with no border checks) whilst of benefit to peaceful citizens inevitably makes it easier for terrorists to carry out their plans.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
There are extra delays at Schipol but this is just a normal thing now and not related to brexit. Brussels is the same.

Talk of it on Flyertalk.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Old Fartbag wrote:
boredsurfin wrote:
Surely the queues and delays at the Eurotunnel at Ashford cant get any worse?

Everything has the potential to get worse! Sad



Have you tried Citalopram, Paroxetine or possibly Lithium? Laughing Laughing
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@nozawaonsen, we're purposefully not crossing borders by motorway when we travel home next week. Might not make a difference, might make it worse for us, but we'll give it a go.
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Like many things the "point" of Schengen is a great idea...if everyone agrees to be bound by the rules.

However, this has not been happening which has resulted in a failure of the system and the EU bringing these new rules in to give credibility to the original idea.
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@hammerite, quite possibly will be more fun. Lots of pretty back routes you can take. Whether it ends up faster...
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@Thornyhill, I was expecting comment by you or Achilles....my bet was Achilles would get there first.....either way, it's as it should be. Laughing
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
The road borders CH-France around Geneva are completely normal with no general checking Puzzled
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And I'm not sure who hasn't played by Schengen "rules"...
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The new rules have been in place for a while, so it may be very high traffic times of year that show up the problem.

I suppose it brings up the old problem of - do you invest a lot of money, just so as to cope with high demand on a week or two.....or alternatively, let travelers suck up the inconvenience on peak periods?

It may sort itself out if the Pound gets much weaker, pushing people into a Staycation.
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@Old Fartbag, the only difference now is that on entry/exit into Shengen passports actually have to be checked against issuing databases, etc. so not just given a cursory glance.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Simon Calder sums it up nicely.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
under a new name wrote:
The road borders CH-France around Geneva are completely normal with no general checking Puzzled


Also round here for CH/DE, CH/FR and DE/FR borders. Though most vehicles are on local plates which may have something to do with it, and I am mostly on a bike.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Quote:

Put passport in self service passport scanning machine. Wait 5sec. Walk through when the gate opens.

Except when the machine doesn't recognise you and you end up at the back of the queue anyway

I flew Luton to Geneva a few weeks ago and it was much as normal. 20 minutes through security at Luton and the same queue at imigration at Geneva. Both exactly as normal. Coming back it was 10 minutes security and 10 minutes passport control in Geneva, once again exactly as normal. However it was straight through the UK border. Sometimes this can be as long as 30 minutes. Due, no doubt, to being the only flight to arrive at that time slot.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Gainz wrote:
Simon Calder sums it up nicely.

Thank you for posting that.....it all looks to be getting even more complicated than getting the ESTA for the States, if you are a Third Country.

Thank goodness for the fact that I'm entitled to an Irish Passport.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Delays on Austrian borders are mostly due to build up of traffic. They are interested in trucks and vans. Very rarely actually stopping most traffic. But slows things down as larger vehicles are siphoned off.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
For Austria into Germany, try either Bregenz (never seen a queue there, nor even a chicane thing with an officer), or try the one on the Fernpass (the border is somewhere in the middle of a tunnel through a mountain, so again, no check).
Kufstein/Kiefersfelden is the only place I've seen a check, but I imagine the A8 is similar.

Manchester was also put passport in machine, watch animated scanning graphic for 5 seconds, then walk thru.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@andy, we'd planned to cross at Bregenz then drive on to France.
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The checks at GVA take up to 2 minutes per person and it has become notably slower to go through the passport checks.

Ibiza, on the other hand, are still only checking that you look vaguely like the photo in your passport.

This is set to get worse, the world over.
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