Kastrup strengthens border control ahead of record summer

Kastrup expects around ten million travellers during the summer season. To reduce the risk of long queues at passport control, extra police resources are being deployed from this weekend. Next week, staffing will be reinforced further with temporary staff to keep all control points open during peak traffic. This is reported by Berlinske.

According to Copenhagen Police, border control has already been reinforced by around 130 full-time equivalents compared with last year.

The reason is the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES), which records passport details as well as biometric data, including facial photographs and fingerprints, for third-country nationals travelling into or out of the Schengen area. The more extensive registration means that each passport check takes longer than before.

To make the flow more efficient, Danish authorities plan after the summer to open the automatic eGate checks also to travellers from, among others, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan.

The problems are not limited to Denmark. Airports and airlines across Europe have warned that the EES risks creating significant queues during the peak season and have urged the European Commission to give member states greater flexibility when the pressure is at its highest.

For Swedish travellers, the impact will mainly be noticeable when travelling to destinations outside Schengen. Travellers flying from Kastrup to, for example, the United Kingdom, the USA or Canada are therefore advised to allow extra time for passport control.