Travellers arrive at Bucharest airport as passport and visa checks for Schengen area passengers are

(31 Mar 2024) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Bucharest - 31 March 2024 ++NIGHT SHOTS++ 1. Various of Bucharest airport exteriors 2. Various of arrivals hall and board 3. Various of passengers and crew members arriving, banner reading (English): ‘’Welcome to Schengen" 4. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) Dan Musat, traveller from Vienna: “This passport is now a Schengen passport. I could say I saved now about 20 minutes, maybe more.” 5. Close of banner reading (English): ‘’Welcome to Schengen" 6. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) Dan Musat, traveller from Vienna: “It is a historic moment, it's history in the making, something that should have been done many years ago but now something unjust for Romania has just been fixed.” 7. Various of arrival hall, passengers 8. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) Valentin Iordache, spokesperson for Bucharest airport: “It is a historic moment that we at the airport have been waiting since 2011, because the new part of the (Bucharest) Otopeni airport was designed and built for a Schengen/non-Schnegen operation.” 9. Close of arrivals board 10. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) Valentin Iordache, spokesperson for Bucharest airport: "The first flight operated without any border controls coming from the Schengen space was, slightly ironically, an Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna.” 11. Various of departures hall with Schengen and non-Schengen gates 12. Passport control with sign reading (Romanian/English): "EU Citizens" 13. Various of immigration officers and passport control 14. Exterior of airport ++NIGHT SHOT++ STORYLINE: Romania and Bulgaria joined Europe’s passport and visa-free Schengen Area on Sunday, in a move that will see border checks lifted for travellers arriving by air and sea but not via land. While viewed as a positive step forward for the two European Union countries, which joined the 27-nation bloc in 2007, it is a step short of the full accession both have long hoped for. Excited passengers arrived at Bucharest airport on Sunday to a large banner saying ‘’Welcome to Schengen." “It is a historic moment, it's history in the making, something that should have been done many years ago but now something unjust for Romania has just been fixed,” said Dan Musat, a traveller arriving from Vienna. Austria vetoed Romania and Bulgaria’s admission into the group of European countries at the end of 2022 over concerns about illegal immigration but at the same time allowed Croatia — the EU’s newest member — full accession. The Schengen Area was established in 1985. Before Bulgaria and Romania’s partial admission, it was comprised 23 out of the 27 EU member countries, along with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. “It is a historic moment that we at the airport have been waiting since 2011, because the new part of the (Bucharest) Otopeni airport was designed and built for a Schengen/non-Schnegen operation,” said Bucharest airport spokesperson Valentin Iordache. Production and AP Video by Nicolae Dumitrache =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected]. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...