Brexit: The Border Now Lives in Your Smartphone

Anyone wanting to travel to Britain now needs permission before they even board the plane. The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) is mandatory for German travellers without a visa, has cost £20 since April and has been checked by airlines at check-in since February. Without it, nobody boards.

A reminder: Brexit was sold with the promise of taking back control. It is back. It now stands at a check-in desk in Berlin, checks documents on behalf of another country and refers questions to an app.

Sovereignty in 2026: a kingdom hands its border control to the airlines and charges a processing fee for it.

The price has doubled since launch. That need not be isolationism. Perhaps it is simply a business model: openness to the world is still available, just payable in advance.