Brits landing at Malaga Airport are facing tighter passport checks under the EU’s new border system.
The Entry/Exit System (EES), an automated border control procedure involving facial recognition, fingerprint scans, and digital data collection, entered its test phase at Malaga Airport on October 20, the Spanish Government’s regional delegation confirmed this week.
The system is being tested one hour per day to fine-tune the technology. A full rollout is scheduled by April 10, 2026, with authorities allowed 180 days to fully implement it across Spain’s border checkpoints.
Once live, the system will replace the manual stamping of passports with a digital record of every non-EU traveller’s photo, fingerprints, passport scan and entry or exit timestamp.
If a traveller is denied entry, that too will be logged.
The Ministry of the Interior has invested €83 million to upgrade Spain’s border infrastructure, including airports, ports, and land crossings, with the new technology.
For now, biometric collection will be phased in slowly, and traditional passport stamping will continue alongside EES during the transition period.
The group most affected in Malaga is, unsurprisingly, British nationals, who made up 2.83 million arrivals in 2024, accounting for over 5.7 million total movements.
Tourism leaders and local officials have voiced concerns that the new controls could cause delays and frustration, particularly during peak seasons.
Meetings have been held between local police and the Subdelegation of the Government to coordinate a smooth rollout with ‘minimal disruption’ for passengers.
The EES is managed by the National Police in Spain and is part of a broader EU strategy to modernise border security.
The system will be mandatory for all non-EU citizens entering or exiting the Schengen Area, including tourists, second-home owners and business travellers.
