Passengers flying within Italy and the European Union no longer need to show ID at the boarding gate, Italy’s Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) confirmed on Thursday.
The new regulation, already in force, allows travellers to board with just a boarding pass for domestic and EU flights. The change applies to Schengen countries and members of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland).
However, ID must still be carried and shown if requested. All airport security procedures remain unchanged.
“There’s a lot of time wasted at a bureaucratic level,” said ENAC President Pierluigi Di Palma. “By removing the requirement, boarding is also quicker.”
The change follows a modification to Italy’s national civil aviation security programme and was approved by the Interior Ministry. Under the previous rule, airlines had to visually verify a passenger’s ID at the gate to confirm it matched the name on the boarding pass. That requirement has now been removed.
The updated language states that security is still guaranteed by existing passenger screening protocols under EU law. Random ID checks may still be carried out.
Consumer group Codacons criticised the move, saying it risks lowering safety standards. Assoutenti also expressed concern.
The Interior Ministry may request exemptions for specific routes considered sensitive to illegal immigration. France may be among the destinations affected.
According to ENAC, around 51 million passengers departing from Italy this year will benefit from the new rule.
Germany already applies a similar policy for domestic and European flights.
