What began as an accounting query over Cyprus’ €229.9 million supplementary budget has escalated into a political tussle about personal-data use at the nation’s borders. During a House Finance Committee hearing on 2 December, opposition MPs discovered that the Transport Ministry had quietly inserted funding for new software at Larnaca and Paphos airports. The system would flag travellers with unpaid traffic and court fines and allow police to bar them from leaving the country until the penalties are settled.
Finance-ministry officials said the money merely covered routine expenses for the island-wide speed-camera contractor. But the Electromechanical Services Department contradicted that statement, insisting the contractor receives no violation-linked commissions and that the airport module is “fully legal” yet “not implemented at this stage.”
![Airport Exit-Ban Software Sparks Row Between Finance and Transport Ministries]()
Civil-liberties groups worry that a de-facto exit-ban mechanism could violate EU free-movement rules if travellers are prevented from boarding without a court order. Airlines and travel-management companies, meanwhile, fear last-minute gate stops could trigger missed flights and compensation claims.
For mobility managers the immediate takeaway is to brief travellers about outstanding fines—especially rental-car violations—and to build pre-trip compliance checks into their duty-of-care programmes. The dispute also highlights how transport-safety projects can morph into border-control tools with direct impact on business travel.
Parliament has demanded full disclosure of the contractor agreement; a vote on whether to suspend funding until privacy guarantees are in place is expected later this month.
Finance-ministry officials said the money merely covered routine expenses for the island-wide speed-camera contractor. But the Electromechanical Services Department contradicted that statement, insisting the contractor receives no violation-linked commissions and that the airport module is “fully legal” yet “not implemented at this stage.”
Civil-liberties groups worry that a de-facto exit-ban mechanism could violate EU free-movement rules if travellers are prevented from boarding without a court order. Airlines and travel-management companies, meanwhile, fear last-minute gate stops could trigger missed flights and compensation claims.
For mobility managers the immediate takeaway is to brief travellers about outstanding fines—especially rental-car violations—and to build pre-trip compliance checks into their duty-of-care programmes. The dispute also highlights how transport-safety projects can morph into border-control tools with direct impact on business travel.
Parliament has demanded full disclosure of the contractor agreement; a vote on whether to suspend funding until privacy guarantees are in place is expected later this month.
