Italian aviation sector urges Interior Ministry to allow Entry/Exit System ‘off-switch’ after 3-hour border delays

Italy’s airports and airlines have had enough of the teething problems that followed the full roll-out of the EU Entry/Exit System (EES) on 10 April. In a joint letter sent on 23 April to Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, industry groups Assaeroporti, Aeroporti 2030, IATA, IBAR and AICALF warned that passport-control queues for non-EU travellers now regularly exceed three hours at Rome-Fiumicino, Milan-Malpensa and other gateways. The associations asked the Minister to press Brussels for an emergency mechanism that would let Schengen states “totally suspend” biometric registration when congestion threatens operational continuity and public order. The plea follows a separate public appeal published the same day by newspaper la Repubblica, in which airport CEOs described scenes of “chaos” and called for the new kiosks to be shut down until staffing levels and IT interfaces are stabilised. According to the operators, the EES adds 90–120 seconds per passenger—even longer for families—multiplying wait times during morning and evening banks. With the long spring-holiday bridge (24 April-4 May) and the summer peak looming, they fear missed connections, flight delays and EU261 compensation claims could cost carriers millions of euro. Behind the scenes, handling agents told Anteprima24 that manual back-up procedures, slow fingerprint readers and uncertainty over exemptions for residence-permit holders are the main choke-points. Some border-stations have already reverted to stamping passports to clear queues, but this workaround risks fines from EU auditors. Airport operators say that unless a statutory pause button is introduced, they will need hundreds of extra police officers and booths that were never budgeted for. For corporate travel managers the message is clear: build in longer connection windows, warn staff to expect bottlenecks at exit as well as entry, and collect real-time data to support duty-of-care assessments. Multinationals relocating non-EU assignees should advise them to carry proof of Italian residence to avoid duplicate enrolment. If Rome succeeds in winning a flex-clause, other Schengen hubs—from Paris to Frankfurt—are likely to demand the same, potentially reshaping the EU’s flagship border-digitalisation project before it has even celebrated its first summer.