Italy Eases Biometric Border Checks

Italy is preparing an emergency mechanism to temporarily suspend parts of the EU’s biometric Entry/Exit System at crowded border points, aiming to prevent airport queues in Rome, Milan, Venice and other major gateways from disrupting the summer travel season.

Italy seeks a fallback mode for EES

The Italian government is drafting an emergency decree that would allow border police to temporarily bypass parts of the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System during peak congestion. EIG Law reported that the proposed measure was published on May 5, 2026, and would apply to major gateways including Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa.

The move is not a cancellation of passport control or a withdrawal from the EU’s digital border system. It is an operational safety valve. When digital registration slows passenger flows, border officers would be able to revert to traditional document checks and passport stamping. The goal is to reduce the risk of long queues, missed connections and pressure on airport infrastructure.

What changes for travellers

If the decree is approved, border officers could use manual processing several times a day depending on actual demand. Industry immigration services have reported a working threshold of more than 45 minutes in passport-control queues. At that point, officers would be able to temporarily skip part of the biometric process and move travellers through standard checks faster.

For tourists, this means the Italian border experience in summer 2026 may vary by airport and by hour. During quieter periods, a traveller may complete digital EES registration. During peak periods, the traveller may receive a traditional passport stamp if authorities activate the fallback mode. The Schengen short-stay rule of up to 90 days in any 180-day period still applies.

How the EU Entry/Exit System works

The EU Entry/Exit System, or EES, is designed to automatically register non-EU and non-Schengen nationals travelling for short stays. It replaces manual passport stamping with a digital record of entry and exit, passport data, facial images and fingerprints.

The Council of the European Union previously approved a phased 180-day rollout of the system. EU member states were allowed to move gradually toward full registration while keeping manual passport stamps during the transition. The rules also allow full or partial suspension of EES at specific border crossings in exceptional circumstances, such as very high traffic intensity and the risk of excessive waiting times.

Why Italy wants flexibility

Italy is one of Europe’s largest tourism markets, and its airports are highly exposed to summer peaks. Rome, Milan, Venice, Naples, Catania, Bologna, Bari and Palermo handle mass tourism, business travel, cruise-related flows, transfers and visitors from outside the EU. Any increase in processing time per passenger can quickly become a bottleneck for check-in, security, boarding and baggage operations.

Assaeroporti recorded 20.4 million passengers at Italian airports in April 2026, up 2.7% from a year earlier. The figure matters because EES is being deployed when the market is already operating at high volume, not during a demand slump.

Fiumicino and Malpensa are key pressure points

Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa are among the most sensitive hubs for biometric border checks. They handle a large share of long-haul flights, tourists from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Middle East and Asia, and passengers connecting across Europe. Those travellers are more likely to fall under EES because the system applies to non-EU and non-Schengen short-stay nationals.

Venice Marco Polo is another high-risk airport. The city depends heavily on international tourism, cruise-related travel and cultural trips, and seasonal pressure rises precisely when heat, school holidays and mass itineraries add strain to border services.

Biometrics need time to become efficient

In theory, EES should make borders more accurate and modern. Digital records reduce reliance on poorly legible stamps, help detect overstays and lower the risk of identity fraud or document misuse. But first-time registration takes longer than routine passport control because travellers must register biometric data.

eu-LISA, the EU agency responsible for large-scale information systems in justice and security, says transitional measures apply during the phased launch. Passport stamping continues, records may be created using only travel-document data where biometric functions are not yet operational, and stamps take precedence in case of discrepancies. That effectively acknowledges that the digital system will operate alongside the old paper logic for some time.

The summer season raises political risk

Italy is not the only country facing the queue problem. French airports have also pushed for flexibility during peak months. Euronews reported that the European Commission would allow member states certain flexibilities until September to avoid summer travel disruption, while air-transport groups warned of chronic border-control understaffing and unresolved technology issues.

For Brussels, the issue is politically sensitive. EES was designed to strengthen security and simplify controls. But if the first months are remembered for queues, missed flights and biometric checks being switched off at peak times, public perception of the reform will be shaped less by security and more by disruption.

Airlines face schedule and cost risks

For airlines and airports, even a small increase in processing time per passenger has financial consequences. Passport-control queues increase the risk of missed connections, pressure staff, trigger complaints, require extra waiting space and can affect punctuality. If passengers arrive too early out of caution, congestion spreads beyond border booths to check-in, security, retail areas and public transport.

Low-cost carriers are especially exposed because their model depends on short aircraft turnarounds and operational discipline. Network airlines face the problem through missed connections: a passenger delayed at biometric control may trigger rebookings, compensation costs and downstream disruption.

Travellers will need to watch passport stamps

A temporary return to manual stamping creates another issue. While EES operates unevenly, non-EU travellers need to monitor their Schengen stay limits more carefully. If some trips are recorded digitally and others through stamps, the risk of miscounting days increases.

This is particularly important for travellers from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and other visa-exempt countries who may make several short trips to Europe in a year. Switching off biometric registration at a specific moment does not cancel the 90/180 rule or grant additional stay rights. It only changes how the border crossing is recorded.

ETIAS remains a separate reform

EES is often confused with ETIAS, but the two systems are different. EES records actual border crossings. ETIAS, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, will be a pre-travel electronic authorization for visa-exempt nationals. It will be completed before departure and will not replace passport control.

For the travel industry, the distinction is essential. Airlines and tour operators will need to explain two separate procedures: obtain ETIAS before travel once that system starts, and then complete or verify EES registration at the Schengen external border. The more exceptions and temporary fallback modes EES has, the higher the risk of passenger confusion.

Italy is protecting tourism before the peak

Italy’s initiative is an attempt to balance European security policy with the economics of national tourism. Tourism is not a secondary sector for Italy; it affects the balance of payments, employment, regional budgets and small-business revenue. If entering the country becomes associated with unpredictable queues, especially in Rome, Milan and Venice, the impact will extend beyond airports to hotels, tours, restaurants, cruises and conferences.

For the state, the fallback mode also reduces the chance of a public confrontation between travellers, airlines and border police. But it raises a question about the efficiency of the reform itself. If a new digital system must be regularly suspended at the moments when it is most needed, then infrastructure and staffing are still behind the political timetable.

As International Investment experts report, the critical conclusion is that Italy’s proposal is not a technical footnote but evidence of a structural conflict between digital security and physical border capacity. EES can become a useful control tool only if airports have enough booths, kiosks, trained staff and clear passenger communication. If countries repeatedly return to stamps during peak hours, business will gain flexibility but lose predictability, while travellers will need to plan with more time and track their Schengen days themselves.