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BREXIT

Which passport queues should Brits use now that Brexit has happened?

Brexit might have become reality last week, but Brits shouldn't experience any changes to travel within the EU until the end of the year. Here's a reminder of how travel during the transition period should work.

Which passport queues should Brits use now that Brexit has happened?
Travellers line up in the non-EU passport queue at Stockholm's Arlanda airport. File photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

At midnight on January 31st, the UK entered the so-called “transition period”, during which negotiations on post-Brexit deals are set to take place. That period lasts until December 31st.

But up until then, British citizens still have freedom of movement within the EU. 

And at airports, Brits should use the EU passport queue rather than the non-EU or 'all passports queue'.

A press officer at Swedavia, which runs Sweden's larger airports, confirmed this to The Local.

It can't be ruled out that individual travellers will encounter officials who aren't aware of the rules, however. 

One British resident of Sweden reported his experience of using his UK passport at Stockholm's Arlanda airport early on Sunday morning, just over a day after the UK officially left the EU.

He was told he should join the non-EU passport queue, and added that the official he spoke to was unaware of the transition period.

While travelling within the EU, there will be no roaming charges on mobile phones and there are also no changes to driving rules (in other words, a British licence is valid in the EU and vice versa, with no requirement for an international driving permit).

As for what happens from December 31st, that all depends on what happens and what is agreed during the 11-month transition period.

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SAS

Scandinavian airline SAS loses half a billion kroner in one month

Scandinavian airline SAS lost 2.3 billion Swedish kronor, around 1.5 billion Danish kroner, in the months November 2023-February 2024, including 500 million kroner in February alone.

Scandinavian airline SAS loses half a billion kroner in one month

The figures come from accounts which the company is obliged to report each month as part of a bankruptcy protection (Chapter 11) process it is undergoing in the United States.

The accounting shows that in February, SAS operated with a loss of 822 million Swedish kronor, which corresponds to 535 million Danish kroner or 835 million Norwegian kroner.

Although the company’s February losses are larger than expected, turnover at the airline is in line with expectations according to analyst Jacob Pedersen of Danish bank Sydbank.

“Revenue in February 2024 is only modestly better than in the same month last year, despite a marked increase in turnover. This progress is naturally positive but also driven by a lift in revenues from the leap year this year, which doesn’t raise costs by the same level,” he said in a written comment.

From November to February, SAS posted a turnover of just under 11.8 billion Swedish kronor, equivalent to just over 7.7 billion Danish kroner.

For February alone, turnover was just under 2.9 billion Swedish kronor, around 1.9 billion kroner.

This means that, compared to February in 2023, SAS has raised revenues by around 400 million Swedish kronor.

Pedersen, who closely follows aviation markets, said that the February figures are evidence “significantly more work” must be done by SAS to catch competitors on revenue.

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