Spain launches border checks on travellers from Italy amid Ceuta spat

Spain began implementing border checks on travellers arriving from Italy on Saturday in response to border controls introduced by Rome on Spanish travellers over the migrant crisis in Ceuta.

Under the new rules, arrivals from Italy at ports and airports are subject to random checks until September 7.

It comes after the right-wing government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni introduced checks on travellers from Spain earlier this month, following the influx of tens of thousands of migrants into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta from Morocco.

However, according to initial reports, the new Spanish checks appear to be rather superficial and symbolic, at least for EU citizens.

A traveller from Italy told Spanish state broadcaster RTVE at Madrid airport that an announcement was made on the plane stating that passengers were only allowed to disembark with an ID at the ready.

Spanish officials awaited passengers directly in front of the aircraft, she said.

The traveller said she had held her Italian passport visibly in her hand and was allowed through without any further scrutiny.

"The police officer saw that we had a passport. He didn't check it, he just saw that we had one, and that's why we were allowed through," said the woman.

The left-wing Spanish government announced the checks on Friday evening, after Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni refused to lift the border controls imposed on travellers from Spain since August 1.

Italy and Spain share no land border, so the checks introduced by both sides apply to maritime and air travel.