Airliners.net

I just read a report on the rise of people smuggling flights between Greece and Italy in a German newspaper. The paper alleged that refugees were willing to pay as much as $8,300 per person for the ride that saves them the journey through the closed Balkans. But as those people have already reached Schengen soil and Germany does not currently have passport checks upon arrival at airports, what exactly is holding them back from boarding a scheduled service to Germany. If Greece should have gate id checks in place like Italy and unlike Germany, would travelers presenting a valid Syrian passport be allowed to board as there are no further immigration checks due to take place upon arrival?

They would still need a Schengen visa or a visa for the country of destination. A refugee visa is only valid in the country of residence. This is if you speak of people who have been granted asylum status. Asylum seekers (not yet decided) have a lot less rights, but many tend to ignore the rules to get to their destination of choice. From what i understand a certificate of registration as asylum seeker does not give you the right to travel, hence many of them trying to avoid e.g. to be registered in Greece. Then there are also those who are travelling on the coat tails of real refugees, without a chance of ever getting asylum status, often using forged documents. From what I have read, all Syrian passports are considered suspect by now, as IS has captured thousands of passport blanks, plus the associated stamps and software, and have been selling them to organised crime.

Jan

Quite some refugess do fly within europe. I think quite some fly from FCO to go to Germany and sweeden(this info came from a documentary I watched a year ago).

Quoting MD11Engineer (Reply 1): They would still need a Schengen visa or a visa for the country of destination.

Why would they need to present a passport. I could walk into any airport anywhere in Schengen Europe and fly to any other country with the Zone and not have to present my passport even once. If the passangers are dressed nicely, look clean and tidy there's no reason why they could do it.

I fly all over Europe for my job, when I'm in the Schengen Zone I'm never asked to present a passport, I only get asked when I'm flying into the Zone from Russia or the UK.

Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 3): Why would they need to present a passport. I could walk into any airport anywhere in Schengen Europe and fly to any other country with the Zone and not have to present my passport even once. If the passangers are dressed nicely, look clean and tidy there's no reason why they could do it.

Here I have to identify myself to at least the airline staff on boarding.

Jan

Quoting MD11Engineer (Reply 4): Quoting KiwiRob (Reply 3): Why would they need to present a passport. I could walk into any airport anywhere in Schengen Europe and fly to any other country with the Zone and not have to present my passport even once. If the passangers are dressed nicely, look clean and tidy there's no reason why they could do it. Here I have to identify myself to at least the airline staff on boarding.

There is no requirement to present an ID upon boarding in Germany and from my experience also in some other European countries, even for international flights (For instance, flying FRA-SIN-BNE last year, I checked in online and the first time that somebody actually physically checked my passport was at the departure gate for the SIN-BNE leg). Still, let's pretend Greece conducts ID checks at gates, would they only check that you have an acceptable ID (i.e. Syrian passport) or would they verify your immigration status which would seem odd to me considering that there are no immigration controls due to take place and the whole concept of the Schengen area envisages the free movement of people internally without such checks.