Passengers, especially from Britain, have been facing waits of up to three hours at border control, missing flights after new system was introduced
Spanish airports are taking steps to tackle border control chaos affecting British travellers, according to reports from the popular holiday destination. The European Union’s new Entry/Exit System became fully operational on April 10, 2026, and within hours, airports throughout the Schengen zone were plunged into turmoil. Passengers endured waits of up to three hours at border control, missed flights, and were left spending thousands arranging their own journeys home.
Several countries have already responded, with Greece temporarily suspending the new EES entry/exit border control system after non-EU passengers, particularly those from the United Kingdom, encountered lengthy queues. Now the Majorca Daily Bulletin reports that airport authority AENA has apparently directed staff to take whatever measures possible to streamline the process and cut waiting times.
According to VisaHQ, while officials at Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Málaga, Alicante and Palma airports have confirmed the technology is functioning properly, they have admitted that passenger numbers during peak periods rapidly overwhelmed checkpoint capacity throughout Easter week. Based on guidance issued to frontline personnel on Tuesday evening, airports may temporarily redirect families and travellers with reduced mobility to conventional stamping queues when biometric queue waiting times surpass 25 minutes. They may also stagger flight arrivals through coordination with Aena’s slot management team, a measure already trialled in Málaga. These steps are reportedly “adjustments, not a suspension”, with biometric capture remaining compulsory for first-time registrants.
READ MORE: Spanish airport shuts for five weeks from tomorrow – Ryanair flights cancelled
The new EES system, which was initially introduced back in October, has faced substantial criticism from the travel industry and airlines, and several countries are said to be weighing up whether to follow Greece’s lead with the summer season mere weeks away and the travel sector having to contend with the Middle East crisis alongside threats of fuel shortages and rising airfares, which are doing little to bolster consumer confidence.
AENA airports
- A Coruña (LCG)
- Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas (MAD)
- Albacete (ABC)
- Algeciras (AEI)
- Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández (ALC)
- Almería (LEI)
- Asturias (OVD)
- Badajoz (BJZ)
- Bilbao (BIO)
- Burgos (RGS)
- Ceuta (JCU)
- César Manrique-Lanzarote (ACE)
- Córdoba (ODB)
- El Hierro (VDE)
- Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén (GRX)
- Fuerteventura (FUE)
- Girona-Costa Brava (GRO)
- Gran Canaria (LPA)
- Huesca-Pirineos (HSK)
- Ibiza (IBZ)
- Jerez (XRY)
- Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat (BCN)
- La Gomera (GMZ)
- La Palma (SPC)
Budget carrier Ryanair this week announced that passengers requiring its airport check-in or bag-drop services will need to complete the process 20 minutes earlier. The airline confirmed it will close these services an hour before a flight’s scheduled departure – compared with 40 minutes at present – to allow passengers additional time to navigate security and passport checks. This will cut down on the “very small number of passengers” who miss their flight while caught in queues, the airline added. Ryanair’s website states that passengers who fail to check in on time “may be denied boarding without refund”.
The new policy will take effect from November 10 and follows the introduction of the EES.
The British travel association ABTA has said that alongside implementing the contingency measures, destinations and border authorities must do more to prepare for peak travel periods. This should include deploying additional border guards during the busiest times. Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA – The Travel Association said: “The ambition of a project like EES means it was never going to go completely smoothly, and we were prepared for that.
“However, what is frustrating is that border authorities have it within their power to ease queues and deal with issues as they arise – but that doesn’t seem to be happening across the board. As we head towards peak travel periods, we’re urging border authorities to plan for busy periods and use the contingency measure available. It’s critical the Commission keeps a close eye on this.”
Ryanair chief marketing officer Dara Brady said the “small 20-minute change” will “allow these 20% of our customers who check in a bag more time to clear through airport security and passport queues, and get to their departure gate on time”. He added that this will be particularly important “during busy travel periods when some of these airport queues can be longer”. Numerous UK travellers are experiencing hold-ups at airports across continental Europe due to the introduction of new border regulations.
The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) requires visitors from non-member countries such as the UK to have their fingerprints recorded and photograph captured to enter the Schengen Area, which comprises 29 European countries, predominantly within the EU.
Earlier this month, over 100 easyJet passengers caught up in lengthy waits at passport control at Milan Linate airport missed their flight to Manchester. Ryanair has announced it is rolling out additional self-service bag drop kiosks throughout its network.
By October, more than 95% of the airports it operates from will be equipped with these facilities.
