Air transport

Fiumicino raises the alarm over queues at passport control

According to CEO Troncone, the new non-Schengen registration system could be suspended during the summer peak periods at the airport

by Mara Monti

25 June 2026

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Aeroporti di Roma is considering suspending the new European biometric border control system to avoid the risk of chaos at the capital’s airports during the summer. The alarm was raised by the chief executive of Aeroporti di Roma, Marco Troncone, in an interview with the Financial Times. According to the executive, the new European biometric registration system for non-Schengen passengers, which involves the collection of fingerprints and passport details, risks clashing with the heavy passenger flows expected during the summer months.

“We are very concerned about the summer,” said Troncone. “The process is proving to be incompatible with the peaks in traffic we will have to deal with. The only solution is to relax the checks: there is no way we can carry out 100 per cent of the planned checks.”

These concerns are not limited to Italian airports. For some time now, European airport and airline associations have been calling for a temporary suspension of the system during the summer months. The issues came to light after the new biometric registration system came fully into operation on 10 April.

Meanwhile, airlines are advising passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before departure to avoid the risk of missing their flight. Furthermore, in the event of a delay caused by long queues at security checks, airlines do not guarantee automatic rebooking onto subsequent flights.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also issued a warning: at the busiest airports, waiting times could be as long as six hours.

The issue of passenger flows does not depend directly on the airports, but on the border police, who are responsible for collecting biometric data and who already have the necessary flexibility to manage queues should they become too long.

So far, however, there have been no signs of a change of stance from the European Commission. Brussels attributes the long queues not so much to the biometric system as to a shortage of border control staff.

The first issues have been reported at airports in Portugal and Cyprus, but the list could soon grow. At some airports in Greece, for example, certain passengers arriving from non-Schengen countries have already been allowed to bypass the longest queues.

The EES (Entry/Exit System) applies to nationals of countries outside the European Union and the Schengen Area who enter the Schengen Area or other EU countries for short stays of up to 90 days within a 180-day period. The regulations apply to both visa-exempt travellers and those travelling for tourism, business or other temporary purposes.

Those affected include, for example, UK nationals and all travellers from third countries who are exempt from visa requirements for short stays in the Schengen Area.