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Airline carries a person with an entry alert: document checks, return transport and costs

Airline carries a person with an entry alert: which document checks, return duties and costs under sections 111 and 112 FPG must be assessed.

Mag. Mirela Saric
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Mag. Mirela Saric

Attorney at law · German and BCS

Mirela Saric assists clients in immigration matters with a clear structure: review the decision, secure deadlines, define the strategy and act quickly. She advises in German and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian.

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13 September 2026 · Mag. Mirela Saric, Attorney at Law

If an airline transports a person who is refused entry at the external border because of an entry alert, the carrier has its own duties. These include checking the travel document and any required entry authorisation and arranging and paying for return transport in the cases defined by law.

The label person subject to an entry alert does not by itself establish whether the airline committed an administrative offence. The relevant facts are the documents presented, any required entry authorisation, the precise reason for refusal and whether international protection was requested.

This article deals only with the carrier's responsibility. Lifting an entry ban, correcting SIS data and special airport transit rules require separate assessments. For an individual complaint and possible procedural costs, see the article on complaints, costs and legal aid.

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What responsibility does the carrier have?

Answer one short question. The result indicates which documents and which part of the carrier duty should be clarified first.

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01 Question 1

What exactly happened during transport?

The travel documents, the reason for refusal at the border and the carrier response determine the first assessment.

All paths at a glance

Overview of all answers.

01

After a refusal of entry, the carrier must assess the statutory return duty and the resulting costs.

Secure the refusal decision, the transport records and every message from the airline. Under sections 111(4) and 111(5) FPG, the carrier must ensure the person's immediate departure at its own expense or arrange return transport and bear the statutory accommodation and travel costs where the return cannot take place immediately.

Assess separately whether the person was transported without the required travel document or entry authorisation. An entry alert alone does not answer that question. The exception for international protection under section 112(2) FPG must also be considered.

02

The airline must identify which document or entry authorisation it considers missing.

Request a written statement on whether the issue is a travel document, an entry authorisation or the authority's reason for refusing entry. Keep passport copies, booking data, the airline message and the border decision together.

The duties under section 111 FPG concern the required documents and certain passenger data. They do not establish a blanket rule that every person with an entry alert must automatically be refused carriage.

03

Without written records, it is difficult to attribute the carrier's responsibility reliably.

Record the flight number, date, airport, contact persons and the exact oral statement. Ask the airline and border control for written confirmation of the reason for refusal and the planned return journey.

Also record who requested accommodation, the next flight or additional documents. An oral demand for payment must not be treated as identical to a statutory return duty following refusal of entry.

What must the airline check before transport?

Section 111(1) FPG requires carriers transporting persons across the external border to Austria to check whether the required travel document and, where necessary, the required entry authorisation are available. The provision focuses on those documents and authorisations. It does not replace an authority's individual decision on whether entry is lawful.

Under sections 111(2) and 111(3) FPG, certain identity, document and journey data must also be transmitted in advance and kept available for a limited period. This includes, among other things, name, date of birth, nationality, document details, place of departure and departure and arrival times. This data duty is separate from the later return duty.

An entry alert can therefore be an important verification signal. The signal alone does not provide a complete legal assessment of the transport. The alert, the travel document, any required entry authorisation and the border decision must be assessed together.

Separate the duties

Which task belongs to which phase?

Document checks, data transmission and return transport have different statutory points of reference.

Carrier duties by stage of the journey
Phase Question Relevant consequence
Before departure Are the travel document and required entry authorisation available? Check the documents and required authorisation against the available information Possible responsibility under section 111(1) and sanction under section 112(1) FPG
During transport Were the required passenger and journey data transmitted? Transmit the data in advance and retain it for the statutory period A breach can be relevant under section 112(1) FPG
After refusal How will immediate departure be arranged? Pay for departure or, where necessary, arrange and pay for return transport If delayed, statutory accommodation and travel costs can also be covered

Who pays for return transport and accommodation?

If a foreign national is refused entry after being transported across the external border, section 111(4) FPG requires the carrier to ensure immediate departure at its own expense. If the carrier cannot carry out that departure, section 111(5) requires it to find return transport without delay and bear the cost.

If return transport cannot take place immediately, the statutory duty also covers accommodation and the return journey. This concerns the organisation of return after refusal of entry. A separate claim for delay, further loss or other damage against the airline has to be assessed on its own legal basis.

Directive 2001/51/EC expresses the same basic approach for third-country nationals. Article 2 extends the return duty to certain transit situations. Article 3 requires a carrier unable to carry out immediate return to find return transport and bear the relevant costs, including accommodation and the journey where return is delayed.

Is carrying a person with an entry alert automatically an offence?

No. Section 112(1) FPG focuses on transporting a person without the required travel document or entry authorisation and on breaches of specific data duties. The existence of an authority notice or alert does not replace that assessment.

The relevant review must establish which documents and authorisations were available at check-in, what information the carrier processed and on what basis entry was refused. A carrier may transport a person despite an alert where the document situation and the authority decision lead to a different assessment. That is always case-specific.

Section 112(2) FPG provides an important exception from punishment. It applies where international protection is granted under the provisions named there or where return or removal is found to be inadmissible for the reasons stated in that subsection. That protection issue must be considered in the cost and sanction assessment.

Review sequence

Five steps for a reliable assessment

  1. 01
    Event

    Secure refusal and transport records

    The travel documents connect the person, flight and decision.

    Secure the passport, boarding pass, booking, flight number, arrival time and written refusal decision.
  2. 02
    Documents

    Identify the required authorisation

    An alert must be kept separate from the actual document situation.

    Check which travel document and entry authorisation were required for this journey.
  3. 03
    Return

    Assign return duties in writing

    The statutory duty is addressed to the carrier.

    Ask for written confirmation of who arranges the next transport, accommodation and the requested costs.
  4. 04
    Protection

    Record any protection request

    A protection request can change the sanction assessment.

    Record whether and when international protection was requested or return was found inadmissible.
  5. 05
    Assessment

    Separate costs from sanctions

    Return expenses and an administrative fine are different questions.

    Assign return, accommodation, document checks and any administrative procedure to their respective legal bases.

Which documents should the person preserve?

The first review needs a coherent set of records. Keep the passport or other travel document, booking, boarding pass, airline correspondence, refusal decision and receipts for accommodation or return transport together.

Add a short chronology. Record when the documents were presented, what the airline said, when border control decided and who arranged the return. If international protection was requested, include that time in the chronology as well.

For minors, the child's interests and representation require a separate assessment. The related article on minors and the best interests of the child addresses that different focus.

Important: The carrier's statutory cost duty after refusal is separate from any personal damages claim against the airline. An entry alert alone proves neither an administrative offence nor such a claim.

Legal updates: Follow developments on entry bans and immigration law through BRANDaktuellen Rechtsnews.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about carrying a person with an entry alert

Does the airline have to pay for the return after refusal? +

In the cases regulated by sections 111(4) and 111(5) FPG, the carrier must ensure immediate departure at its own expense or find and pay for return transport. If return is delayed, accommodation costs can also be covered.

Is transport because of an alert automatically an administrative offence? +

No. Section 112(1) FPG concerns the required travel document, the required entry authorisation and specific data duties. The actual documents and any international protection status must be reviewed.

Which records matter for the cost assessment? +

Keep the travel document, booking, boarding pass, refusal decision, airline messages, return details and receipts for accommodation or other requested costs. A chronology helps assign responsibility.

Legal basis and scope

The statements on carrier responsibility are based on section 111 FPG, in particular the document check, data duties and return transport, and on section 112 FPG concerning sanctions and exceptions. Articles 2 to 5 of Directive 2001/51/EC add the Union-law framework on return transport, costs and possible sanctions.

The current versions of section 111 FPG and section 112 FPG are available from the Austrian Legal Information System. Directive 2001/51/EC is published by EUR-Lex.

This article does not cover lifting an entry ban, correction or deletion of an SIS alert or the special conditions of airport transit. Those questions have their own legal bases and must not be mixed with carrier responsibility.

Topics
Carrier responsibilityReturn transportDocument checksRefusal of entryCosts

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