Due to the attacks in Paris and the ongoing police activity taking place in and around Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, Lufthansa has asked passengers to be prepared for additional scrutiny.

Specifically, passengers are asked to carry their passport or identity card even if travel is taking place within the ‘Schengen’ region which normally does not require any border control or identity checks.  This applies to passengers traveling on any of Lufthansa Group’s airlines.

Passengers should expect spot checks for flights arriving or departing the above mentioned countries.  In addition there is a higher chance of random checks for other travel within Schengen zones.  It makes sense to act as though Schengen rules have been suspended and be prepared with proper documentation no matter where in Europe you may be.

According to the EU, this security enhancement will be in place through at least the middle of December with a good probability of being extended beyond that time frame.

Travelers who cannot provide proper identification are subject to being banned from entering a country or fines.

I’ll be in Europe next week and am curious to see how different things look and feel compared to my last visit a few months ago…..