From 14 minutes at Orio al Serio to 9 minutes at Venice and 3 minutes at Rome Ciampino: let’s see where people wait the longest at security checks in Italian and European airports, according to AirHelp and the Service Charters.
When you book a flight and you organize a trip, there is one factor to always take into account and that is the time you spend at the airport, and in particular the time in line security checks before boarding.
Often it’s about a few minutes (generally between 5 and 20 minuteswithout queues or other particular inconveniences), but sometimes the wait can be quite long, depending on the city and the type of stopover.
Making light of queues at security checks can cost you boarding: that’s why most companies open the check-in desk 2 hours before of the flight and closes it 40 minutes earlier of takeoff.
When to arrive at the airport: waiting times for security checks
Research by AirHelp, a company that assists passengers with compensation requests from airlines, updated to 20 October 2026 and based on waiting times collected in over 30 major European airportsshows that, at times of greatest attendance, the queue at the controls can exceed an hour and a half.
The analysis, to have a realistic picture, takes into consideration the worst wait recorded on each day of the week at each airport and calculates the average of these seven values.
The company calls this value “worst-case average wait“, average wait in the worst case. It is the number that really matters if you fly at a peak time, if you are at the limit with the times or if you don’t want to risk a connection counting on not finding a queue. This is why, in general, it is better to arrive at the airport with at least 2 hours early in case of short flightswhile for i intercontinental flights or in high season the companies suggest at least 3 hours in advance.
As regards national airports, the research only considers Malpensa and Fiumicino. On the worst days the wait at security checks reaches 48 minutes to Malpensa ea 36 at Fiumicino.
However, it is possible to trace the waiting times in other Italian airports thanks to the data released by the companies that manage the airports, included in the Service Charter of each airport.
According to SEA, which manages the Milan airport system, in 2025 a Malpensa 90% of passengers passed the checks by 7 minutes and 43 secondsoverall data of the airport. TO FiumicinoAeroporti di Roma (ADR), the management company, indicates for 2025 an expectation within 4 minutes and 2 seconds in 90% of cases, and within 3 minutes and 29 seconds for sensitive flights, i.e. those subjected to more rigorous controls.
The two measurements do not contradict each other, since these data photograph the ordinary wait throughout the year, while AirHelp records the peak of the worst days.
Remaining in Italy, again according to the service charters, in the 2026 editions, which report the results of 2025, the longest wait is that of Bergamo Orio al Seriowith 14 minutes. They follow Pisa with 11 minutes, Venice with 9 minutes and 12 seconds, the Terminal 1 of Milan Malpensa with 8 minutes and 17 e Florence with 7 minutes and 45.
They are just outside the top five Veronawith 7 minutes and 35 seconds, and Cataniawith 7 minutes. Palermo, Treviso, Naples and Milan Linate fall between five and six minutes.
The fastest are Turin with 4 minutes and 8 seconds, Rome Ciampino with 3 minutes and 35 minutes seconds and the Apulian ports of Bari And Toastsboth under i three minutes.
The comparison with Europe
In the table published by AirHelp, 18 European airports appear, including two Italian ones, Malpensa, in mid-table, and Fiumicino, in thirteenth place. It’s in your head Barcelona-El Pratwhere on the worst days they are needed 1 hour and 47 minutes to pass the gates. They follow London Stansted with 1 hour and 34 minutesManchester with an hour and a half, Madrid and Palma de Mallorca with an hour and 28, London Gatwick with an hour and 20. Frankfurt and Amsterdam are just over 50 minutes. At the other extreme are Istanbul, with 5 minutes, and Brussels, with 15.
AirHelp also verified, in the 30 major airports of its sample, Which day of the week you record the longest queues. The Monday is the worst in 11 stopoversThursday with 10, Friday with 9. This is followed by Wednesday with 8 and Saturday with 7, while Sunday and Tuesday only have 5 stopovers each.
Because at some airports the queue is longer
The difference is made above all by the machines that examine hand luggage. Where the latest generation scanners are in operation, based on computed tomographythe passenger often no longer has to remove computers and liquids from their bags, and the queue moves forward more quickly. According to AirHelp, 17 of the 30 airports examined already have these devices or are testing or installing them. The heaviest expectations, the company observes, are concentrated where people are still working with the old technology, where the transition to the new one is halfway done, or where the number of passengers is simply much higher.
