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Gibraltar's government has moved to reassure residents and travellers that its new airport border control system is operating as it should, after footage circulated on social media over the weekend suggesting incidents had taken place at passport control.

 

The government was unequivocal in its response. After reviewing CCTV footage and gathering statements from officials at both the Border and Coastguard Agency and HM Customs, it concluded that the claims made in the video are "substantially false" and that no incident occurred or was witnessed on Friday.

 

The new system came into effect this week following the signing of the historic EU-UK Treaty on Gibraltar on Tuesday July 14, which saw the border fence between Spain and Gibraltar come down and Gibraltar formally join the Schengen Area under Spanish administration.

 

Teething troubles are almost inevitable when a system of this scale goes live, and Gibraltar's government acknowledged as much. The longest wait recorded on Friday was around 50 minutes for British citizens and those from non-EU countries, though passengers on Saturday's first arriving flight cleared security in under 20 minutes. All electronic gates at the airport are now functioning correctly.

 

It's worth noting that Gibraltar residents are exempt from the new Entry/Exit System, though they must present a valid identity document or civil registration card to confirm their status. Everyone else who is not an EU citizen will be subject to the standard checks.

 

To ease the process while the system beds in, the government is distributing water to passengers waiting in line, providing seating for those who need it, and keeping tourist information staff on hand to help. Six more kiosks are also being added next Thursday to reduce waiting times further.

 

The tone from Gibraltar's government has been patient rather than defensive. They've thanked residents and visitors for their understanding during what they described as an "adaptation phase," which is about as measured a response as you'd expect from an administration conscious that all eyes are on how smoothly this transition plays out.

 

 

Image: wikicommons