site.btaBucharest's First Schengen Flight Arrives from Austria

The first Schengen flight that landed in Bucharest on Sunday arrived from Austria, the country that blocked Bulgaria and Romania's full Schengen membership, the spokesperson for the National Company Bucharest Airports, Valentin Iordache, told BTA. More than 130 passengers were on board the flight, which was operated by Austrian Airlines, he added.

The new rules, effective Sunday, apply at all 16 international airports in Romania. Controls at the Schengen land borders remain in place. This poses a major problem during holiday or festive seasons and causes huge losses to transport companies, local media noted.

Next week, Romanian Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu will visit Vienna to discuss his country's full integration into the Schengen area with his Austrian counterpart. The Bucharest authorities hope to get a clear deadline for accession by land by the end of the year.

"The decision to enlarge the land borders will be political. It depends on factors that are not in the realm of our country's diplomatic intervention, but I am convinced that the process is irreversible and that its full implementation cannot be delayed much longer," Predoiu said on Sunday morning, as quoted in a press release.

Romania is in constant contact with strategic partners so as to bolster efforts for full Schengen accession, the press release further reads.