ETIAS One Step Closer to Its Functionalization

The European Union institutions are working on the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), which is expected to be completely operational by the end of this year.

Frontex, the European border agency, announced the graduation of the first class of ETIAS Central Unit operators in a news statement released on January 28. The operators comprise 28 applications handlers, two team leaders, and 10 traveller and carrier support operators who have completed a three-month training session.

“There are 19 women and 21 males among the operators. They are now required to receive additional training in the operation of the eu-LISA system. “For the following two years, Frontex intends to engage an additional 200 personnel to administer and operate the ETIAS Central Unit,” the agency said.

According to Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri, the ETIAS Division of the EU border agency grew from nine to 52 staff members in just one year.

“Intense work is also underway in individual Member States to establish their respective ETIAS National Units, as well as in two of our sister agencies involved in this important project: eu-LISA, which is developing the IT systems, and Europol, which will provide its own data for the security screening of the applications,” Director Leggeri said in congratulating the newly graduated.

The ETIAS is a system that requires travellers from over 60 nations who may currently travel visa-free to the Schengen Area to get authorisation before to their journey to the borderless zone. By the end of the year, it is expected that 1.4 billion travellers from these countries will need to apply for an ETIAS.

The system is expected to be operational by the end of 2022, and the EU agencies in charge of its implementation have made steady progress.

SchengenVisaInfo.com announced in mid-October of last year that the eu-LISA has opened registrations for air carriers, sea carriers, and overland international carriers for the ETIAS.

The EU Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Fields of Freedom, Security, and Justice, eu-LISA, stated that the registration will allow carriers to acquire the essential information in order to prepare for the implementation of the ETIAS Act.

At the same time, once the ETIAS is in place, all airlines will be required by law to check if each passenger has a valid ETIAS before allowing them to board.