Airport Security in the wake of the European Entry-Exit System: Assemblage, Performance, and the Securitized Traveler

Abstract

The European Union's Entry/Exit System (EES), officially fully deployed across the Schengen area as of April 2026, digitally registers the entry, exit and refusal of entry of third country nationals at the border and replaces manual passport stamping via biometric verification. While the securitization of migration has been extensively studied with regards to land and sea crossings, and the performative aspects of border security are well established in scholarly literature, there is comparatively little research that examines the airport's external borders as a site where these concepts converge. The thesis addresses this gap by examining how EES transforms the security practices of the European air border and what this means for third country nationals. The study applies a threefold theoretical framework of security assemblage, security theatre and securitization. In its methodology, the thesis adopts a qualitative document and policy analysis, drawing from EU legal instruments, institutional data and industry commentary. The results of analyses were able to demonstrate a substantive securitizing language towards third country nationals, indications of performativeness against expected operational capacity, and vulnerabilities within a working assemblage. The findings contribute to closing the...