UK citizens may now use e-gates at Bulgaria’s Sofia Airport
British citizens may now use the e-gates at Bulgaria’s Sofia Airport Terminal 2.
The facilitation will be implemented in compliance with all Schengen procedures and British passports will be stamped after the rapid passage through the electronic gate, Bulgaria’s Interior Ministry said on June 17.
The first group of British tourists to use the e-gates passed the point on June 17, in a moment witnessed by UK Minister for EU Relations Nick Thomas-Symonds.
“This is a practical implementation of an agreement between the EU and the UK, which we see being implemented in reality and facilitating the travel of British citizens,” the Bulgarian Interior Ministry press office quoted Thomas-Symonds as saying.
“The new way of crossing will encourage British citizens to visit your country and will support tourism,” he said.
He said that more and more British tourists are expected to come to Bulgaria during the summer season, which is a positive development for both countries.
“You have seen how fast and successful the electronic check-in process is. I thank (Interior Minister Daniel Mitov for the efforts and the result achieved for the effective implementation of the system in just a week,” Thomas-Symonds said.
The Director of the Border Police Directorate, Chief Commissioner Anton Zlatanov, announced that the introduced measure will be permanent and available at all airports in Bulgaria.
After the signing of the agreement between the UK and the EU on May 19, Bulgaria is one of the first countries to provide the opportunity for British citizens to cross the border through electronic check-in processes.
“The facilitation is in the spirit of our increasingly better cooperation at a professional level with the UK services. We managed to provide this technical, organizational and regulatory opportunity in just a week, and I thank my colleagues for their efforts,” Zlatanov said.
(Photos: Interior Ministry)
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