The novelty that simplifies the procedures in Italian airports is already operational: stop the obligation to show the identity card for boarding for national and European flights. But the document remains in the pocket
In Italian airports it turns the page. No identity card to be exhibited to boardingno document to look for the last second before passing the gate. The boarding card will be enough to board national and direct flights in the countries of the European Union. A silent but concrete simplification, which rewrites – at least in part – the ritual of air travel as we know it.
The ENAC, the National Authority for Civil Aviation, confirmed this, specifying that the measure is already active in all Italian airports. No announcement with great pomp, but an operational novelty that promises to lighten – literally – the passage to the airport. “By removing the obligation to show the document to the Gate, an unnecessary loss of bureaucratic time is eliminated. So the boarding is faster for everyone,” explained the president of the ENAC, Pierluigi di Palma, underlining, however, that the recognition document will still be brought with it and kept available for any checks.
A small but symbolic revolution, which is part of that broader process of digitization and streamlining of airport procedures, accelerated by the pandemic and now relaunched also by the growing automation of the airports. The security checks, of course, remain unchanged. But the measure marks a step forward in the relationship between citizen and public infrastructure, in the name of an efficiency that, for once, does not translate into greater surveillance but in greater fluidity.
The identity card can remain in the wallet. And perhaps, at least for a few minutes, the journey will also return to look a little more to an adventure than to a protocol.
When the document is still needed (and what happens with England)
But be careful: the identity document continues to be necessary in different circumstances. Despite the abolition of the obligation to show it to the gate for national and for those within the European Union, the identity card (or passport) remains indispensable for access to safety gates, for check-in at the airport-if not carried out online-and in case of checks by the authorities.
In addition, the measure does not apply to direct flights in the United Kingdom. After Brexit, the United Kingdom is considered in all respects an extra-EU destination: to embark on a flight to London or Manchester, for example, it will still be necessary to show the identity document valid for expatriation-and in some cases, preferably the passport. The same rule also for the sections with extra -European airports, where the document requirements remain unchanged.
In short: the identity card may no longer be necessary for the gate, but continues to be an essential travel companion. Better to always have it at hand.
