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Ryanair flags major delays at Alicante, Malaga, Madrid and Tenerife airports this summer
British tourists travelling to and from Spain are being advised to allow extra time at the airport
British holidaymakers and expats travelling to and from Spain this summer are being warned to leave plenty of extra time at the airport as Ryanair says lengthy passport queues are continuing to cause disruption across Europe.
The budget airline has singled out several major Spanish airports where passengers have been facing delays, including Alicante, Malaga, Madrid, Tenerife South and Lanzarote. The warning comes during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, with millions of people heading off on summer holidays.
According to Ryanair, the problems are linked to the EU's Entry-Exit System (EES), which came fully into force in April this year. The system requires non-EU travellers entering the Schengen Area to provide biometric information such as fingerprints and facial scans.
The airline claims the technology is still creating bottlenecks at border controls months after its launch, leading to long queues and frustrated passengers at a number of airports popular with British travellers.
Outside of Spain, the Irish airline is also expecting major problems in Lisbon, Milan Bergamo, Milan Malpensa, Verona, Paris Beauvais, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt Hahn, Krakow and Budapest.
Spain's airport operator AENA has already introduced measures designed to keep passengers moving. Staff have been given greater flexibility to manage queues and airports can redirect families and passengers with reduced mobility to traditional passport control desks if waits for biometric checks become too long. Flight arrivals are also being managed more carefully during peak periods to reduce congestion.
Even with those measures in place, Ryanair says travellers should be prepared for delays.
Neal McMahon, the airline's Chief Operations Officer, said families heading away this summer should be focused on "suitcases, suncream and sangria" rather than spending hours standing in passport queues.
He complained that the EES system is still not working as intended and said passengers should not be used as "the testing ground for unfinished border infrastructure".
Ryanair is backing calls for temporary flexibility measures, which currently allow some biometric checks to be suspended, to remain in place beyond September. The airline believes extending the arrangement until early 2027 would give airports more time to improve infrastructure, repair faulty equipment and recruit additional staff.
For anyone flying between the UK and Spain over the coming weeks, the message from the budget airline is crystal clear. Arrive early, expect queues and allow extra time to get through passport control.
Also of interest: Large dogs can now travel on more trains across Spain from July 21
