EU irregular crossings fall a third, Spain the exception

Frontex released its eight-month border figures on 11 September, and they tell two different stories at once. Across most of the EU’s external routes, irregular crossings have fallen sharply. The western Mediterranean, the corridor that ends in mainland Spain and its north African territories, is the exception: detections on that route rose by roughly 34% in the first eight months of 2026, according to Frontex preliminary data. That is the statistical backdrop to Italy and Spain’s tit-for-tat internal border checks, which have now run for nearly two months.

What the eight-month figures show

Frontex recorded nearly 75,000 irregular border crossings at the EU’s external borders between January and August 2026. That is down 35% from the same eight months in 2025.

The breakdown by route makes the Spain picture stand out sharply.

• Western Mediterranean (mainland Spain, Balearic Islands, Ceuta, Melilla): up approximately 34%, to about 15,900 detections, the only major route to increase. This figure does not include the large-scale movement from Morocco into Ceuta at the end of July; Frontex said no definitive total is likely to be established because most of those who crossed returned to Morocco before they could be registered.
• Eastern Mediterranean: down 25%, to more than 24,200, with Libya to Crete the most active corridor.
• Central Mediterranean (Italy): down 55%, to around 19,400.
• Western African route (Canary Islands): down 58%, to around 5,100, the steepest fall.

These are all preliminary figures compiled from national reports. Frontex counts detections, so the same person can be counted more than once if they cross at different points.

Why is the Spain route rising?

The increase on the western Mediterranean route is not a Ceuta effect, since Frontex left the Ceuta crossings out of its count. Frontex says Algeria was the main departure country on the route, and that pressure hit a three-year monthly high in July before easing in August. It puts the shift towards Algerian departures down to stricter controls in Morocco and to controls on the Western African and Central Mediterranean routes.

The Ceuta events in late July were a separate and acute incident, not the driver of the underlying year-to-date trend. But they amplified the political pressure on Italy and Spain and triggered the internal border checks: Italy’s since 1 August and Spain’s since 8 August.

Why this matters for flights and ferries between Italy and Spain

The Italy-Spain internal border checks are a direct response to that western Mediterranean pressure. Italy introduced air and sea checks on passengers arriving from Spain on 1 August, citing the events in Ceuta and the risk of onward movement within Schengen. Spain responded with reciprocal controls from 8 August, according to the Commission’s list of notifications.

Both sets of controls have been extended several times since. As of late September 2026, Italy’s checks on Spain arrivals run until 1 October; Spain’s run until 7 October. Passengers on direct flights or ferries between the two countries may face a document check on arrival. The checks do not apply to EES: crossing from Spain to Italy is an internal Schengen movement, so no biometrics are taken and your 90-day allowance is not affected.

Why the Spain figures matter for the debate on internal checks

On 2 June 2026, the European Commission issued opinions on long-running internal border controls in nine Schengen countries: Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden. It recommended that they work towards phasing out and gradually lifting those controls. It pointed to the coming Pact on Migration and Asylum, to EES, fully applicable since 10 April 2026, and to alternatives such as non-systematic police checks.

France and Germany have since notified further extensions. The Italy-Spain checks are newer and were not covered by those opinions, which apply to controls lasting more than 12 months. But the Spain-specific rise gives Madrid and Rome a figure to point to: their route has not improved, it has worsened, even as the EU-wide total fell.

What this means for autumn travel to Spain

For most travellers heading directly to Spain from outside the Schengen area, the external border crossing is the point that matters. EES applies there: non-EU short-stay visitors are registered biometrically on their first EES crossing, and later entries use a quicker check against the stored record.

If you are travelling between Italy and Spain on a direct flight or ferry before early October, keep your passport accessible after landing. The document check, if it occurs, takes place at arrivals.

ETIAS, when it opens for applications, will sit at the external Schengen frontier alongside EES and will screen travellers before departure. It has nothing to do with internal crossings between member states. Press reporting points to 2027 for a revised launch. No action is required yet. Applications are not open. For the current position on timing, see the ETIAS status page.