EBAA provides update on EU-LISA programme

Textron Cessna Latitude business jet flying over Keystone Lake, west of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The EBAA has requested clarification on whether Part 91 operators, will be included amongst the carriers impacted by the eu-LISA programme set to launch over the next two years.

From September this year, carriers from across the aviation industry will need to verify electronically whether a third country national travelling to the Schengen Area has entries remaining on their visa.

The move comes as part of the eu-LISA programme (The European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice), which is due to be operational by May 2023.

All operators bringing passengers to most countries in Europe will need to be registered with the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) for passenger screening. This system will function much the same as the Electronic System for Travel Authorization system does in the US, according to the EBAA.

Due to be launched by the end of September 2022, ESS will replace the stamping of passports with an electronic record of entries and exits. It will require operators to use a web service to verify whether third-country nationals holding a short-stay visa issued for one or two entries have already used the number of entries authorised by their visa.

Then, from May 2023, air carriers will also have to comply with the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). This means operators will have to verify, prior to boarding, that their visa-exempt passengers have a valid travel authorisation.

As for who should register the EU states: “As per the Schengen Borders Code, article 2.15 (‘carrier ’means any natural or legal person whose profession it is to provide transport of persons); therefore, each air carriers, sea carriers and international carriers transporting groups overland by coach, coming into the territory of the Member States is considered under the obligations of EES/ETIAS as soon as the carrier transports passengers from outside the EU into the territory of the EU Member States.”

According to EBAA, the above definition is unclear and the association has requested further clarification on the position of part 91 flights. Until then the EBAA suggest members register to the system regardless.