British travellers were left fuming at Malaga Airport on Friday morning after yet another bout of painful delays at passport control.
Chaotic scenes were pictured in the arrivals area, where passengers claimed they waited up to two hours after landing from the UK.
The snaking queues came as the airport was dealing with more flights than usual due it being the start of a four-day bank holiday weekend.
According to local reports, the airport will manage 1,608 landings and takeoffs between Friday and Monday, the highest number ever for the first bank holiday weekend of December.
Alexander Gaetano shared a photo of an enormous queue on Friday, writing: ‘Malaga Airport is broken for UK travellers.’
Yvonne Burchell shared a similar photo taken at 11.15am, saying it took her son one hour and 50 minutes to get through.
‘It was total chaos,’ she said, while Karl Spoon responded: ‘In-laws took two hours to get out, f*****g joke!’
Lynda Judge added: ‘I hope this gets sorted before the Christmas rush!’, while another joked: ‘Organisation has left the building.’
The worst of the queues appeared to be in the late morning window between 10am and midday.
It comes as airports across Spain are phasing in the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES), which must replace traditional passport stamping by April 2026.
The EES employs biometric scanners which scans non-EU passengers’ fingerprints and faces each time they enter and leave the Schengen Zone.
The data is stored and allows authorities to ensure travellers from ‘third’ countries – including the UK – are not exceeding their 90 in 180 day limit.
However, each time a passenger uses EES for the first time, they must register a series of details, causing queues to form behind the machines at peak times.
Other teething problems are also adding to the chaos, including machines breaking down, and the continued stamping of passports after the machines have been used (which will eventually cease).
Passengers have also complained that a lack of staffing during the busiest times continues to plague travel hubs like Malaga.
There is also a lack of knowledge or training among some workers about who is exempt from the EES.
After weeks of chaos and contradicting statements, the country’s interior ministry this week confirmed to the Spanish Eye that British residents of Spain should avoid the EES altogether, and join the passport queues for EU citizens.
