Italian Parliament Passes Security Decree as Cabinet Tweaks Controversial Migrant Repatriation Bonus
ITA Airways Extends Suspension of Tel Aviv, Riyadh and Dubai Routes to 31 May
Liberation-Day Holiday to Drive Heavy Weekend Traffic; Police Impose Truck Ban but No ‘Red Alert’
Latest News
Italian aviation sector urges Interior Ministry to allow Entry/Exit System ‘off-switch’ after 3-hour border delays
Airport and airline associations sent a joint letter to Interior Minister Piantedosi on 23 April asking for authority to suspend the EU Entry/Exit biometric system when queues exceed safe limits. Wait times of up to three hours risk operational meltdown ahead of the holiday rush, they warn, and could expose carriers to heavy compensation costs. Business travellers are advised to allow extra time and carry Italian residence cards.
Report shows only 8 % of foreign workers obtain permits under Italy’s expanded ‘decreto flussi’
New figures disclosed on 23 April show that fewer than one in twelve foreign workers granted a quota under the 2025 ‘decreto flussi’ have received a residence permit, with some provinces issuing virtually none. The bureaucratic bottleneck leaves industries short of labour and pushes migrants into irregular status, prompting calls for urgent process reform.
EU Advocate General backs Italy–Albania migrant-processing deal, clearing path for offshore return centres
Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou told the EU Court of Justice on 23 April that Italy’s protocol to run migrant-return centres in Albania complies with EU law if procedural safeguards are upheld. The non-binding opinion greatly increases the chances that the offshore scheme will move forward, supporting Rome’s push to speed up returns and easing pressure on Italian facilities.
Parliament passes Security Decree but promises ‘decreto bis’ to tone down €615 lawyer bonus for voluntary returns
The Chamber approved the Security Decree on 23 April, but the government promised a second decree within 48 hours to rewrite the clause that pays lawyers €615 for arranging migrants’ voluntary return, after criticism from the bar, NGOs and the President’s office. Corporate immigration teams should await the ‘decreto bis’ before banking on the new incentive.
Flight-safety boost for business travel: ENAV signs 2026-28 collective agreement with air-traffic controllers
ENAV and FIT-CISL signed a three-year contract on 23 April, raising wages and overhauling work-rules for 4,200 Italian air-traffic controllers. The deal reduces the risk of ATC strikes and fatigue-related delays, offering greater schedule certainty for corporate travellers and relocation planners.
Cuneo emerges as rare bright spot in sluggish work-permit system, finalising 83 % of quota applications
A new civil-society report highlights Cuneo as one of Italy’s few efficient prefectures, having processed 83 % of work-permit dossiers, compared with a national average below 17 %. While the local task-force offers best-practice lessons, experts warn that patchy performance across provinces still undermines the wider decreto flussi scheme.