Passengers on board an Air Malta flight from Cagliari early this morning were the first to walk through the new arrivals lounge at Malta International Airport as Malta officially became part of the Schengen area today.
Anybody catching a flight between Malta and most of the other 26 EU member states will not be required to pass through passport control, therefore avoiding queues and the occasional awkward question from immigration officers. This means travelling has become much like boarding a bus and disembarking in a foreign country.
The 130 passengers on board Air Malta's KM 7625 were greeted with canapés and sparkling wine as they walked through the new €2.8 million (Lm1.2 million) arrivals lounge at about 12.15 a.m.
Malta International Airport chief executive Julian Jaegar, who was among those present for the welcoming ceremony, said that the adoption of the Schengen procedures would no doubt ensure a more expedient passenger flow.
On the other hand, the first passport-free passengers to leave Malta under the new relaxed rules left early this morning for Hamburg on an Air Malta scheduled flight.
The Schengen agreement is considered as an important development for Malta, because the island is cut off from the European mainland.
The other countries that dismantled air borders today are the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The other members in Schengen are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
However, those travelling to and from the UK, as well as Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania, will still need to go through the usual passport control area.
Passengers must still carry passports or identification, just in case it is requested for security reasons. Identity checks by airline companies will also continue when checking-in and boarding.
Malta had to undergo several EU checks to ensure the country had reliable IT and physical control systems. The Foreign Affairs Ministry then had to see how to go about issuing visas to third-country, non-EU nationals to enable them to visit countries in the Schengen area without requiring separate visas.
Sea borders were lifted last December 21 enabling passport-free sea travel between Malta and Sicily.
Speaking on Friday, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said the partial implementation of Schengen in December had already improved sea transport communication and the Maltese were enjoying increased mobility.