Seven Minutes to Twenty at Fiumicino: What the New Border System Costs in Time

Average waiting times for British nationals arriving at Rome Fiumicino have gone from about seven minutes to about twenty under the European Union's Entry Exit System, the airport's chief aviation officer Ivan Bassato told the BBC. He said the airport is not at the point where the process has the same quality it had before the system arrived.

The system records every entry to and exit from the Schengen area by non EU short term visitors in a single database. It has been introduced gradually since 12 October 2025 and has been fully operational since 10 April 2026. Registration applies to all non EU nationals, but the volume of arrivals from the United Kingdom into certain destinations is what turns a procedural change into a queue.

Bassato said the new self service biometric kiosks, often called e-gates, had improved things significantly, while adding that urgent change was still needed. Airports, airlines and travel groups have all raised the same concern about the peak summer weeks.

The trade is explicit and worth naming plainly. A database that records every crossing buys the Union better control of who is inside the area and how long they have been there, and it is paid for in minutes at the desk, at the busiest time of the year, by travellers who did nothing differently.