# EES in Italy - Airport Status & Queue Guide | EESQueue

> EU Entry/Exit System status for Italy: which airports have EES live, kiosk counts, first-entry queue estimates and current known issues for non-EU travellers.

Source: https://eesqueue.com/italy-ees-guide

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# EES in Italy — airport status & traveller guide

Italy has been in the Schengen Area since 1997-10-26. The EU Entry/Exit System is live at its external borders, registering non-EU travellers biometrically on first entry.

EES is live at 16 Italy airports tracked here, running at least 240 self-service kiosks between them. 10 have reported significant EES queues — the worst at Firenze (FI) (up to 3h on record).

## EES airports in Italy

| Airport | EES status | Kiosks | First-entry est. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Bari Karol Wojtyła International Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/bari-karol-wojtyla-international-airport) BRI | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/bologna-guglielmo-marconi-airport) BLQ | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Cagliari Elmas Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/cagliari-elmas-airport) CAG | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Catania-Fontanarossa Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/catania-fontanarossa-airport) CTA | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Falcone-Borsellino Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/falcone-borsellino-airport) PMO | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Florence Airport, Peretola](https://eesqueue.com/airport/florence-airport-peretola) FLR | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/rome-fiumicino-airport) FCO | Live | 210 | ~5 min |
| [Milan Bergamo Airport / Antonio Locatelli Air Base](https://eesqueue.com/airport/milan-bergamo-airport-antonio-locatelli-air-base) BGY | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Milan Malpensa International Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/milan-malpensa-international-airport) MXP | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Milano Linate Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/milano-linate-airport) LIN | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Naples International Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/naples-international-airport) NAP | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Olbia Costa Smeralda Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/olbia-costa-smeralda-airport) OLB | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Pisa International Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/pisa-international-airport) PSA | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Turin Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/turin-airport) TRN | Live | — | ~5 min |
| [Venice Marco Polo Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/venice-marco-polo-airport) VCE | Live | 30 | ~5 min |
| [Verona Villafranca Airport](https://eesqueue.com/airport/verona-villafranca-airport) VRN | Live | — | ~5 min |

## Current known issues

**Bari Karol Wojtyła International Airport (BRI):** As of 3 Jul 2026, airport operator Aeroporti di Puglia states EES "is operating smoothly" with no plans to halt checks: "We are not experiencing any issues" - a contrast to the chaos at major Italian hubs

**Florence Airport, Peretola (FLR):** Two weeks after nationwide EES activation, non-EU passengers still faced waits up to 3hrs (with FCO, MXP, and Pisa), per on-the-ground reports; each check reported taking 2-5 min/passenger (jointly reported with Pisa)

**Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport (FCO):** Manual-stamping fallback triggers at 45-min queue through 30 Sep 2026; ADR CEO warned Jun 25 EES is "incompatible with peak volumes" - summer suspension risk; EU Commission formally rejected industry calls to suspend EES for summer 2026 (8 Jul 2026); chief aviation officer Ivan Bassato told the BBC (20 Jul 2026) average UK-traveler border time has roughly tripled from 7 to 20 minutes, saying "we need to fix urgently certain aspects of the system"

🛂 **Flex mode:** Italy runs "flex mode" until 30 September 2026: if queues top 45 minutes, officers may switch to faster manual passport stamping. A stamp issued under flex mode is a valid entry record.

Visiting more than one Schengen country? Your 90-day allowance is shared across all of them. Track it with the [90/180 calculator](https://eesqueue.com/schengen-calculator).

**Live queues:** see current first-entry and exit waits at Italy's airports on our [live EES wait times](https://eesqueue.com/ees-wait-times) page.

## EES essentials

### Who does EES apply to?

EES applies to non-EU nationals travelling to the Schengen Area for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. That includes visa-exempt nationalities (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and others) as well as short-stay Schengen visa holders.

### Who is exempt from EES?

EU, EEA (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) and Swiss citizens are exempt. Also exempt: holders of long-stay (national) visas, holders of EU residence permits, diplomats and service-passport holders on official travel, NATO SOFA-status personnel, stateless persons with refugee travel documents, and holders of local border traffic permits.

### How long does first-entry EES registration take?

Typically 3 to 7 minutes per traveler on first entry, depending on the airport, kiosk availability, and language selection. Families and groups should expect longer total times. Airports with pre-registration apps (Finland, Netherlands, some French terminals) can shorten this to under 2 minutes.

### Will I still get a passport stamp?

Usually no. From 10 April 2026, passport stamping was discontinued as the default across the Schengen Area and entries are recorded digitally in EES. However, several countries - including Italy (until 30 September 2026), Belgium, Germany, France, Greece and Switzerland - have activated a formal "flex mode" that allows border police to revert to manual passport stamping whenever queues exceed set thresholds (e.g. 45 minutes in Italy, 25 minutes in Belgium). Stamps issued under flex mode are valid entry records.

### Does EES apply at land borders?

Yes. EES applies at every external Schengen land border, including road crossings from the UK (Dover/Calais and the Eurotunnel), Turkey into Greece and Bulgaria, Moldova into Romania, and non-Schengen Balkan routes into Croatia and Slovenia. Expect longer queues at road crossings during the initial months.