EU military mobility: personnel transiting through civil airports will still be screened

Brussels – Military travel? Only to, from, and between military bases. Military personnel in uniform who choose to travel on commercial civil aviation flights will continue to be stopped for routine checks, with no exceptions or shortcuts. That’s it. The special package presented by the European Commission at the end of 2025 does not provide for fast-track lanes at civil airports, and there are no plans to intervene. For the Five Star Movement delegation in the European Parliament, this is a problem; for the EU executive, however, it is not, but that is how it stands: military mobility, in the terminals, stops at the metal detector. 

Mario Furore, Danilo Della Valle and Giuseppe Antoci, in a parliamentary question, have raised concerns about airport security procedures applied to uniformed military personnel in transit at European civilian airports, including requests to remove parts of their uniform or checks conducted in the presence of other passengers. Hence the question: “Does the transit of military personnel in uniform on civilian carriers fall within the scope of European policies on military mobility?” The Commission’s response is “no”.

https://www.eunews.it/en/2026/04/30/interview-kubilius-nato-faces-a-challenge-of-mutual-political-trust/ 

“The Commission takes note of the issues raised regarding airport security procedures for military personnel travelling via civilian infrastructure,” states the Commissioner for Defence, Andrius Kubilius, who goes on to clarify: “However, these issues do not fall within the scope of the current legal provisions under the proposed regulation.” The proposal and the resources made available, he emphasises further, aim to “strengthen Europe’s defence readiness by addressing obstacles to military mobility at the regulatory, infrastructure, and capability levels, namely the critical areas that currently limit cross-border military transport.” The issue of queues at metal detectors, therefore, will continue to arise. 

On this point, Kubilius wishes to be clear: the von der Leyen Commission “does not envisage, within the context of the measures set out in the broader military mobility package, the development of further common guidelines in this area.” Measures concerning the removal of security checks for EU military personnel at civil airports “would not fall within the scope of the proposal and the measures currently envisaged.” In short, the rules are in place, and there are no plans to change them, not even through amendments. Generals and colonels are asked to place liquids in the appropriate containers and to remember to check their guns, as carrying them on board is forbidden. Or they can use military jets.