ABA Int’l Law Journal: European Union Airport Security

On April 29, 2010, Commission Regulation (EU) No. 185/2010 (“EU Regulation”) concerning airport screening procedures came into force and immediately became “binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.” These procedures could be construed as requiring physical pat-downs of turbans or their removal altogether. Upon implementation of this regulation, Sikhs in many EU Member States objected to the screening procedures as humiliating and undignified because of the way screening operators treated their article of faith (the turban). The treatment of the Sikh turban at some European airports has raised objections on whether the EU Regulation unfairly restricts the freedom of movement of many Sikhs who fly into, out of, and within EU Member States. The main provisions of the regulation are Articles 4.1.1.2.-4.1.1.5. These EU Procedures, specifically 4.1.1.2, depart from previous rules that made metal detection the primary form of screening.