Warsaw, December 1, 2010 — The Meteor 2010 Joint Operation at Bucharest’s Otopeni (Henri Coanda) International Airport in Romania came to an end on November 29. The Frontex-coordinated operation was launched on November 17 to counter irregular immigration and cross-border crime. The two-week operation, coordinated by Frontex’s Air Borders Section, involved the deployment of 18 guest officers from 10 EU Member States at Bucharest Otopeni Airport working closely with the Romanian Border Police to monitor and control illegal activity at the EU external borders. As a result of the airport’s enhanced security, 40 irregular migrants — chiefly originating from Africa and the Indian subcontinent — were detected. This represents a significant increase compared to the usual numbers of cases detected.
The Member States taking part in JO Meteor 2010, in addition to Romania, were: Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia and Slovenia.