ID check at the gate: some people ask for it "for security" and some don't. Here's the situation
Document yes or document no? The provision by which Enac a few days ago 'relieved' agents at boarding gates [...]
Wizz Air
Tap Air Portugal
Ryanair
ITA Airways
easyJet
Air France
AeroItalia
Document yes or document no? The provision by which theEnac a few days ago 'relieved' agents at boarding gates of ID check of passengers departing from Italy on 'domestic' or 'intra-Schengen' flights, has ignited debate in the public regarding the appropriateness of that measure from a security perspective.
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Even on The Flight Club's Whatsapp and Facebook groups, there has been a fair amount of tussle between those in favor and those against.
Yeah, but how are the companies doing about it? And what can passengers expect at the airport, In days of summer vacation departures?
The Flight Club asked the low-cost airlines that operate the majority of domestic and intra-Schengen flights from our country's airports, as well as Italy's two largest full-service carriers and a couple of also full-service European carriers for which the Italian market is among the most important in Italy.
It is the latter who have confirmed to TFC that they have made arrangements to their airport chiefs so that they would communicate to the agents at the boarding gates (who are almost always employees of airport handling agencies and not the carriers) To suspend the checking of identity documents in the course of boarding their flights departing from Italy to domestic and Schengen destinations.
Among them are. Air France e TAP Air Portugal, but also the major 'home' carrier, ITA Airways, who "promptly informed all operational staff to apply the new regulation in compliance with the ENAC Disposition - DG50 of July 2, 2025, for all domestic flights and those with destination in the Schengen Area, where the verification of passengers' identity at the gate will no longer be necessary. It should be noted that this exemption will not apply to flights departing from Italy with a non-Schengen destination, nor to routes within the Schengen Area identified as sensitive by the Ministry of the Interior - Department of Public Security."
Italy's third largest airline by aircraft in fleet, Aeroitalia, however, responded that they have not yet communicated anything about it. "We have instructed our security manager to deal with the issue. To evaluate what to do and, eventually, figure out how to organize ourselves." reported the company's CEO Gaetano Intrieri to TFC.
easyjetreports that "As a pan-European airline We cooperate closely with the relevant authorities by complying with their regulations and legal requirements, To ensure the safety of all passengers and staff."
Along the same lines is Wizz Air, which is still "conducting internal evaluations." while from Ryanair explain that "in a security perspective we will continue to check IDs at the gates to verify the match between passenger, ID and boarding pass."
To TFC readers a word of advice: always carry ID with you anyway., as the situation seems to be quite fluid. And because, if you go outside of Italy, the document to re-board the flight to Italy they will ask you for.
