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Paper short abstract

The paper explores the effects of the increased digitalization of EU air border control, focusing on the introduction of new technologies such as the EES, ETIAS, and DTC at Schiphol and Frankfurt airports and shedding light on how these impact the balance between speed vs. security.

Paper long abstract

Much literature on EU border control focuses on irregularized migration at the external sea and land borders. However, irregularized migration at the sea and land borders only accounts for a fraction of the total number of border crossings annually, most of which are categorized as ‘regular’ and take place at the air borders. The disproportionate focus on irregularized migration at the sea and land borders is thus puzzling considering the limited scope of this form of mobility at these border sites. This paper shifts the focus from the politicized and mediatized issue of irregularized migration at the EU’s sea and land borders to this neglected area of research.

Focusing on two of Europe’s busiest airports for extra-EU arrivals, Schiphol (Amsterdam) and Frankfurt, and drawing on interviews with actors across the ‘travel ecosystem’ (including ICAO and IATA officials; DG Home, Frontex, FRA, and eu-LISA officials; along with tech providers, carriers, airport authorities, data protection authorities, and border guards), the paper aims to shed light on how new technologies such as the Entry-Exit system (EES), the European Travel Authorisation and Information System (ETIAS), and the Digital Travel Credential (DTC) impact how border controls are carried out and the filtering between ostensibly risky vs. bona fide travelers. Advancing the notion of ‘banal securitization’, the paper explores how these emerging tools drive the normalization of banal securitization in EU border control, partly blurring the distinction between regular travelers and 'irregular' ones as increasingly more people come under strict security controls.