Blue channel Airports in EU countries also have a blue channel. As the EU is a customs union, travellers between EU countries do not have to pay customs duties. Value-added tax (VAT) and excise duties may be applicable if the goods are subsequently sold, but these are collected when the goods are sold, not at the border. Passengers arriving from other EU countries go through the blue channel, where they may still be subject to checks for prohibited or restricted goods. Luggage tickets for checked luggage travelling within the EU are green-edged so they may be identified. In the recent years usage of the blue channel has become limited mostly to flights between the Schengen Area member states of the EU and the remainder of EU member states, while flights which cross the border of neither the customs union nor the Schengen Area are in practice treated as domestic, and therefore, the people travelling on them do not go through customs channels at all.
Blue channel Airports in EU countries also have a blue channel. As the EU is a customs union travellers between EU countries do not have to pay customs duties. Value-added tax (VAT) and excise duties may be applicable if the goods are subsequently sold, but these are collected when the goods are sold, not at the border. Passengers arriving from other EU countries go through the blue channel, where they may still be subject to checks for prohibited or restricted goods. Luggage tickets for checked luggage travelling within the EU are green-edged so they may be identified. In the recent years usage of the blue channel has become limited mostly to flights between the Schengen Area member states of the EU and the remainder of EU member states, while flights which cross the border of neither the customs union nor the Schengen Area are in practice treated as domestic, and therefore, the people travelling on them do not go through customs channels at all.