Italy’s EES queues delay non-EU tourists by up to 3 hours

Non-EU travelers are encountering long passport-control lines at major Italian airports, with waits of one to three hours and some passengers missing flights.

First-time EES registration is slowing lines

The Entry/Exit System (EES) has been mandatory at participating Schengen external borders since April 10. It records passport details, fingerprints, a facial image and entry or exit data for non-EU nationals making short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

First-time registration is the main bottleneck. The European Commission targets an average processing time of about 70 seconds, but airport reports indicate some registrations take two to five minutes when fingerprints fail, kiosks malfunction or travelers need assistance.

Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Pisa and Florence have reported waits of one to three hours. Delays have also affected Bergamo, Ciampino, Venice, Turin, Palermo and Naples.

Short-stay visitors face the checks

EES applies to most non-EU travelers entering or leaving the Schengen area for a short stay, including visa-free tourists from the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia. It also covers digital nomads using visa-free time or a short-stay visa rather than one of Italy’s longer-term residency routes.

The system replaces routine passport stamping, though Italian airports have sometimes returned to manual stamps or partially suspended EES checks to clear severe backlogs. Italy doesn’t plan a broad summer suspension.

Connections need more breathing room

The delays have already caused missed departures. An easyJet flight from Milan reportedly left more than 100 passengers behind, while a U.K.-bound flight from Rome departed without 51 passengers still caught in border lines.

Affected travelers should build up to three extra hours of border-processing time into non-Schengen departures and connections, based on the longest waits reported at Italian airports.