How are Spain’s airports faring?

TRAVELLERS from past the EU have been bracing for ‘nightmare’ eventualities at European airports for the reason that new digital border management system was step by step rolled out throughout the continent in October 2025.

However the second of reality arrived final week on Friday, April 10, when the gently cautious testing section abruptly ended, and the EES (Entry Exit System) machines have been formally turned on in any respect entries to the Schengen zone.

Fears of delays and confusion have been excessive, because the EES replaces human-controlled passport stamps with automated facial recognition and fingerprint scans, digitally recording all entries and exits. What may go unsuitable?

READ MORE: EXPLAINER: Right here’s how the brand new EES border system will work for Brits coming into Spain and different EU international locations from subsequent month

Quite a bit, it appears, as since full implementation 5 days in the past, the system has triggered widespread disruption throughout Europe.

This was significantly notable at Italy’s Milan Linate Airport, the place many EasyJet passengers reported vomiting and fainting this week attributable to prolonged queues and warmth.

So, amid all of the horror, how did Spain’s airports fare in comparison with a few of their European counterparts?

Early experiences recommend considerably higher – bar intervals of very excessive footfall, when delays mount as lengthy queues snake again from EES machines.

Right here is The Olive Press’s report card on Spain’s busiest airports following the deployment of the system. 

Madrid Barajas Airport – A grade

Spain’s first airport to roll out the EES system on October 12, Madrid Barajas has spared its travellers a lot of the frustration seen elsewhere, early experiences recommend.

A number of individuals reported ‘breezy’ experiences, with brief queues and precedence traces for kids, although some warned that the airport’s machines might be barely ‘delicate’.

“You need to press down exhausting on the passport for it to learn, press fingertips down firmly to register,” US traveller Adriane Mahnken mentioned.

Whereas some customers famous minor delays when a number of flights are scheduled to depart or arrive at roughly the identical time, many experiences described worry-free experiences.

“From baggage drop-off to gate, it took us about 20 minutes … together with biometric seize and passport management,” American Scott Killingsworth mentioned.

READ MORE: Spain is getting ready to modify on EES biometric scanners on the Gibraltar border subsequent month – however the place is the long-awaited EU-UK treaty?

Barcelona El Prat Airport – B grade

In keeping with early experiences, the EES system at El Prat seems to clog up with prolonged queues at peak hours – although early-morning or late-night flights appear to spare travellers a lot of the trouble.

One person on Reddit complained of an ‘terrible’ expertise after standing in line for greater than three hours with ‘nowhere to go to the restroom’, as exhausted youngsters cried and airport workers did ‘nothing to assist in any respect’.

Nonetheless, past occasional experiences of hair-pulling airport chaos, a number of passengers described a lot smoother experiences.

“No points in any respect with the EES system, and we had youngsters,” Scot Lynn Esdale mentioned. “However we could have been fortunate as our flight was early, at 9:15am.”

Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport – B grade

Scores of passengers have described ‘wonderful’ experiences and ‘easy crusing’ at much-maligned Malaga Airport, with loads of obtainable machines for biometric scans and common ready occasions of between 10 and 20 minutes, in keeping with a number of experiences.

British traveller Linda Kearley mentioned she breezed by means of safety and passport management in underneath half-hour regardless of the airport being ‘packed’ final Saturday.

One other passenger, Brit Steven Thomas, mentioned the system appeared to have made queuing at passport management ‘faster than regular’.

Equally to El Prat, nonetheless, the system seems to decelerate significantly throughout peak hours, with occasional experiences of unmoving queues and ready occasions of as much as one hour.

One Scottish traveller mentioned on social media he stood in line for ‘a minimum of one hour’ with ‘no workers, no route, no queue system’ on Wednesday final week.

He additionally reported machines malfunctioning when cameras picked up the profiles of a number of passengers standing in line.

Malaga Airport was one of many first in Europe to section within the system, with the preliminary rollout happening on October 20 final 12 months. Some disruption has been reported in latest months, particularly during times of excessive footfall.

READ MORE: Spain’s police union warns of border collapse at Alicante airport as understaffing and new EES trigger journey chaos

Alicante Airport – B grade

Dozens of travellers have reported ‘crusing by means of’ at Alicante Airport, with pleasant workers and well-functioning EES machines.

A number of airport customers have described ‘quick queues’ for each passport management and EES registration, even throughout peak hours.

Nonetheless, Spain’s police union claimed final month that the EES system and a vital lack of workers have been pushing the airport to breaking level.

In keeping with a spokesperson for the union, passenger queues have usually reached 500-strong for the reason that system was rolled out in October.

Whereas the most recent experiences appeared to level to important enhancements, the union warned {that a} staggering 80% of the airport’s 130 officers have been usually assigned to frontline passport management duties.

“If these new machines, as an alternative of easing the workload, generate extra work, you want extra police,” one agent mentioned.

“We would want between 10 and 15 extra officers to correctly cowl all shifts.”

Palma de Mallorca Airport – C grade

Following a slew of incidents because the EES system was phased in over latest months, Mallorca Airport mentioned it might arrange a separate lane for British passengers to ease strain at border management, the Majorca Every day Bulletin reported.

However solely final Saturday, the hub was singled out as one of many worst-performing in Europe after experiences poured in of queues of ‘between two or three hours,’ in keeping with a joint assertion from Airports Council Worldwide Europe.

To make issues worse, officers at Palma de Mallorca Airport have warned that even EES registration at devoted kiosks may take ‘a number of minutes’ per passenger.

Spain’s third busiest airport, Mallorca handles greater than 30 million passengers per 12 months, with tens of hundreds arriving day by day throughout peak intervals.

Tenerife South Airport – D grade

One of many Canary Islands’ busiest airports, Tenerife South has come underneath important pressure following the EES rollout.

Studies proceed to pour in of nerve-racking queues and lengthy delays, with pissed off passengers vowing to surrender visiting the island sooner or later.

Brit Vik Norton, from Wigan, mentioned Tenerife Airport ‘appears to be the worst underneath the brand new EES guidelines’.

“Now we have been coming to Tenerife thrice a 12 months for the previous 5 years, however after our go to in February we’ve cancelled all our future deliberate journeys because of the airport mess,” she mentioned.

A Tenerife-based British vlogger, identified on-line as The Knightstrider, posted a clip to YouTube displaying a whole bunch of individuals queuing for dozens of metres from passport management on April 11.

Queuing passengers might be seen scoffing in exhaustion as incredulous travellers be a part of the again finish of the road.

The vlogger joined a refrain of pissed off social media customers in urging travellers to reach at Tenerife Airport a minimum of three hours earlier than departure.

Click on right here to learn extra Olive Press Journey Information from The Olive Press.