MADRID, SPAIN / RankWire.AI / – Spain has introduced temporary border checks for travelers arriving from Italy by air and sea. The controls began at midnight on Aug. 8 and are scheduled to continue through Sept. 7. Authorities now check travel and immigration documents on routes that normally operate without routine internal border controls. The measure follows Italy’s earlier decision to restore checks on certain passengers arriving from Spain.
Spain’s Interior Ministry reported checks on 199 passengers traveling on 12 flights from Italy during the first day. Officers carried out the controls at airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, Alicante and Valencia. The process includes checks of passports, nationality and visa status where applicable. Flights and maritime services between Spain and Italy continue operating while authorities carry out the temporary controls.
Italy introduced its own temporary controls on Aug. 1 following a large movement of migrants into Ceuta from Morocco. Rome applied the checks to non-EU nationals arriving from Spain by air or sea. Italian citizens, Spanish citizens and other EU nationals were not included in those targeted restrictions. Italy notified European authorities that its controls would run through Sept. 1 under the current schedule.
Ceuta arrivals preceded border measures
About 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta during the large influx from Morocco that began in late July. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said by Aug. 4 that roughly 70,000 had since left the territory. Ceuta lies on the North African coast and sits outside the Schengen Area. The episode preceded Italy’s introduction of temporary checks and Spain’s subsequent decision to impose controls on arrivals from Italy.
Madrid had urged Rome to remove its restrictions before Spain announced the new checks on Aug. 7. Spain said the Italian measures lacked justification and treated the country unfairly. Italy maintained its controls while Spain introduced its own temporary system the following day. Each country has set separate expiry dates for its current measures, while regular air and sea connections remain available between them.
Schengen rules allow temporary checks
The Schengen Area normally permits travel across internal borders without routine passport controls among participating European countries. Its rules allow governments to restore internal checks when they identify a serious threat to public policy or internal security. The European Commission says countries should use such measures only when necessary and for a limited period. Spain and Italy remain within the Schengen Area while their temporary border controls are in force.
Travelers arriving in Spain from Italy should therefore expect possible identity and immigration document checks at airports and seaports. Spain recorded the first inspections across six major airports on the opening day of the measure. Italy continues its separate controls on targeted arrivals from Spain under its notified timetable. Spain plans to maintain its checks through Sept. 7, with no general suspension of passenger travel between the two countries.