Romanians subjected to additional checks at Vienna airport due to “infrastructure problems”

The Vienna International Airport acknowledged that Romanians are subjected to additional security checks at the airport in a letter sent to Romanian MEP Nicu Ștefănuță. Representatives of the airport apologized and said that this occurs because of “terminal infrastructure problems.”

In late March, MEPs Nicu Ștefănuță (Greens/European Free Alliance) and Vasile Blaga (EPP) sent a letter to the director of Vienna International Airport, requesting explanations regarding the airport's discriminatory policy of subjecting passengers arriving from Bucharest to a second security check. European legislation mentions "one-stop security ready," meaning a single security check.

Ștefănuță recently posted on Facebook the response to his letter. "The airport officials cite infrastructure problems: that [managing] the terminals is difficult, that non-Schengen and non-EU passengers mix. I am sorry, but I am not satisfied with the response. It is a violation of the human dignity of Romanians! If EU law tells us that one security check is sufficient in transit, airports must respect that," the Romanian MEP said, cited by HotNews.

In the same letter, representatives of the Vienna Airport say that they "regret" that Romanian passengers have to go through security checks again in some cases when changing planes.

"We regret that passengers from Romania who want to continue their journey to other Schengen countries cannot always take advantage of the security status. The special case whereby non-Schengen passengers already have security status equivalent to Schengen passengers, unfortunately, was not predictable in the planning of the terminal building and therefore could not be taken into account at that time. The cornerstone for Terminal 3 was laid in January 2006, before Romania joined the EU. Of course, we always strive to improve terminal infrastructure," they say.

Airport representatives highlight the "South Extension" project, through which an additional terminal building will be constructed to create a connection between terminals, with a completion date now scheduled for 2027. "This could, at least in some cases, remedy the problem. However, the best scenario remains Romania's rapid accession to the Schengen area," they added.

(Photo source: Henrique Araujo |