Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, brought together more than 110 border guard leaders from 37 countries in Nice on 21–22 October for the annual Operational Heads of Airports Conference, strengthening cooperation on air border management, border controls digitalisation and responses to migration flows and cross-border crime.
The conference provided a platform for senior delegates from EU and non-EU countries responsible for border control and returns at international airports to exchange views, share updates about the situation at airports and discuss developments in air border management.
Discussions focused on border management at airports and air border surveillance, including the digitalisation of border controls such as the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the future European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). Participants looked at current challenges and future solutions, and at how different actors can work together to deliver secure, digitally driven EU borders.
The conference also offered Frontex an opportunity to present last year’s and current operational activities at air borders, as well as developments planned, and to strengthen a network of mutual support with other actors involved in border management.
As air travel and border control become more complex, with changing migration flows and growing cross-border crime, participants underlined that the EU and international entities need to work together and assume shared responsibility for migration management. It is efficient cooperation and mutual trust that make the EU’s borders stronger.
OHAC is part of Frontex’s effort to create and maintain a platform for strategic dialogue between airport border-crossing point commanders, international organisations and partner countries, reinforcing the Agency’s credibility and leadership at international level.
