MADRID, SPAIN / RankWire.AI / – Spain has imposed temporary border checks on passengers arriving from Italy by air and sea. The controls took effect at midnight on Aug. 8 and are scheduled to remain until Sept. 7. Officers are checking passports, nationality and visa status where required. The measure covers Italian citizens and other travelers reaching Spain from Italian ports and airports. Regular air and maritime services between the two countries continue under the new screening arrangements.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said authorities inspected 199 passengers aboard 12 flights from Italy on the first day. Checks took place at airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, Alicante and Valencia. Travelers may face identity and immigration document reviews when entering Spain from Italy during the temporary control period. The government has not suspended passenger links between the countries. The checks instead add border procedures to routes that usually operate without routine internal controls under the Schengen system.
Italy introduced its own temporary controls on Aug. 1 following the large migrant influx into Ceuta from Morocco. Italian authorities applied those checks to non-EU nationals arriving from Spain by air and sea. Citizens of Spain, Italy and other EU countries were excluded from the targeted measure. Italy notified European authorities that its controls would continue through Sept. 1. Spain later announced its separate restrictions after calling on Rome to remove the Italian checks.
Ceuta arrivals preceded the restrictions
About 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta during the large movement from Morocco that began in late July. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Aug. 4 that roughly 70,000 had already left the territory. Ceuta lies on the North African coast and remains outside the Schengen Area. Italy restored border checks on certain arrivals from Spain after the influx. Spain then introduced controls on passengers traveling from Italy, creating separate temporary screening systems on routes between the two countries.
Madrid announced its decision on Aug. 7 after objecting to Italy’s restrictions. Spain said the Italian controls lacked justification and treated the country unfairly. Rome kept its measures in place, while Spanish authorities began inspections the following day. The two governments have established different end dates for their current controls. Spain’s Interior Ministry has set Sept. 7 as the scheduled end of its measure, while Italy’s notified controls are due to continue through Sept. 1.
Schengen rules permit limited internal checks
The Schengen Area normally allows travelers to cross internal borders without routine passport inspections. Member governments can temporarily restore controls when they identify a serious threat to public policy or internal security. The European Commission says countries should use such restrictions only when necessary and for limited periods. Spain and Italy remain members of the Schengen Area while the temporary measures continue. The controls affect screening procedures, but they do not amount to a general closure of travel between the two countries.
Passengers traveling from Italy to Spain should therefore prepare for possible document checks at airports and seaports through Sept. 7. Spain recorded inspections at six major airports during the first day, covering nearly 200 travelers. Italy continues separate controls on targeted non-EU arrivals from Spain under its current notification. The European Commission oversees the Schengen framework governing temporary internal border checks. Both countries continue to permit regular passenger movements while applying their respective controls for the periods announced.