Italian Data Protection Authority Suspends Facial Recognition Boarding at Milan Airport
Italy's privacy regulator has suspended facial recognition boarding systems at Milan Linate airport, citing insufficient protections for passengers' biometric data. The system, which allowed passengers to board flights using only face recognition without showing identity documents, had been used by about 24,550 travelers by July 31, 2025. A similar service at Rome Fiumicino had already been halted pending regulatory review.
What happened
Italy's Garante della Privacy (data protection authority) issued an order dated September 11, 2025, temporarily suspending the Faceboarding facial recognition system at Milan Linate airport.
The system had been introduced after a pilot program in 2019-2020 and allowed passengers on flights operated by Ita Airways and Scandinavian Airlines to board using only facial recognition, without presenting identity documents.
Reported impact
By July 31, 2025, approximately 24,550 passengers had used the Faceboarding service at Milan Linate.
A similar service called You Board at Rome Fiumicino had already been suspended in late 2024 while regulatory authorities reviewed data protection concerns.
Index analysis
The Garante found that passengers lacked 'active control' over their biometric data, which 'remain in the exclusive availability of the airport operator,' and that greater protections were needed for this information.
The authority cited concerns regarding scenarios identified by the European Data Protection Board in 2024 as conflicts with GDPR (EU Regulation 2016/679).
Governance controls
The suspension is provisional pending completion of the authority's investigation into the system's compliance.
The Garante has initiated discussions with Sea Milan Airports for technical adjustments to bring the system into compliance.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.