Czech airport Karlovy Vary takes important step closer to Schengen compliance

The Czechs are set to join Schengen and remove border controls of airborne travel within the Schengen area by early 2008. Being situated in the middle of Europe and neighbouring on existing and future Schengen-members, Czech Schengen compliance upgrades are naturally concentrated on international airports such as that outside Karlovy Vary.
Extensive construction works have been on-going at the Karlovy Vary airport since 2004, and has until now been performed with support from the European Union. The airport upgrade is being done in several stages, and the stage now supported by Norway started this June. The division of Schengen and non-Schengen travellers that Norway is supporting will take place within the existing terminal building, causing minimal disruption to passengers.
Through the airport expansion, Karlovy Vary aims to ease some of the pressure on Prague airport and also the transit traffic on the 125 kilometer long stretch between the two cities. Karlovy Vary is one of the most popular Czech tourist destinations, and among the foreign visitors heading for the spas around 90 percent come from Russia, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other non-Schengen countries.