Brussels, 26/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - The final phase of enlarging the Schengen area to include nine new member states will take place in the night of 29 to 30 March, in line with a decision taken by European Union home affairs ministers on 6 December 2006 (see EUROPE 9559). After the lifting of land and sea border controls on 21 December 2007, checks at airports will also be lifted for internal flights on 30 March 2008, thus abolishing controls at internal borders for the nine countries: the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia. The reason for the change of date is the timetable change which air companies carry out twice per year, in the spring and the autumn. In practice, this means that from 30 March, border controls on air travellers will only be carried out on flights outside the Schengen area, i.e. flights where an external border is crossed. Border controls will be abolished on internal flights, called Schengen flights. Security checks, carried out by the appropriate authorities, will, however, remain in place. (B.C.)