The Digitalization of EU Air Border Controls and its Impacts on the Construction of Risk

Much literature on EU border control focuses on irregularized migration at the sea and land borders, despite this only accounting for a fraction of the annual number of border crossings, most of which are categorized as ‘regular’ and take place at the air borders. Focusing on two of Europe’s busiest airports for extra-EU arrivals, Schiphol (Amsterdam) and Frankfurt, and drawing on interviews with different actors across the ‘travel ecosystem’ (including ICAO and EU officials, tech providers, carriers, airport authorities, data protection authorities, and border guards), the project explores how new technologies such as the Entry/Exit System (EES), the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), and the Digital Travel Credential (DTC) impact how border controls are carried out. I argue that these emerging tools facilitate the normalization of banal securitization in EU border control, blurring the distinction between ‘irregular’ vs. ‘regular’ mobility as more people come under strict security checks.