Starting from Sunday 12 October, the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES) will become operational at Rome Fiumicino Airport, selected by the Italian Ministry of the Interior alongside Milan Malpensa for the early implementation phase. The system regulates the crossing of the external borders of the 29 Schengen Area countries and - once fully implemented - will replace passport stamps with a digital registration process.

Coordinated by the Air Border Police, the new system exclusively applies to third-country nationals entering the Schengen area for short stays (up to 90 days within a 180-day period). It registers passengers’ transit dates, travel documents and biometric data through facial recognition and fingerprinting, all in full compliance with European privacy rules and regulations.

At the infrastructural level, since July 2024, Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), a Mundys Group’s company, has accompanied the launch of the EES with the installation of 210 Self Service Kiosks that are going to facilitate passengers’ pre-registration process in all the border control areas at Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Fiumicino and G. B. Pastine Airport in Ciampino.

As determined by the Ministry of the Interior, from Monday, October 20 the EES will also be operational at Rome Ciampino Airport - already equipped in terms of infrastructure with 22 Self Service Kiosks - and in all other national airports.

ADR has also upgraded its e-gates, which have helped to handle 60% of total border crossings in a fully automated manner, to make them integrated with the EES process. It has also planned the installation of extensive on-site signage at the border to correctly direct passengers arriving from non-Schengen destinations, with the assistance of dedicated staff. The EU Entry/Exit System will help mitigate the issue of irregular stays and strengthen the protection of common borders; it will also make checks on non-Schengen area nationals more secure, with progressive access to automated gates for those holding a biometric passport.

Managed at EU level (at this link), an online portal will also allow travellers to check how many more days they can continue their stay.

The Entry/Exit System does not apply to EU citizens, holders of long-term permits (over 90 days) and other exempted categories, such as citizens of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican.

Alongside Italy, all other Schengen countries will also activate the EES from October 2025 – i.e., Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.