Passengers arriving at Malaga Airport over the weekend reported scenes of chaos after allegedly waiting 1.5 hours at passport control.
In a social media post, expat Hirwan Siswandi claimed her husband did not move for over an hour after disembarking from his flight.
She said the queue was so long people were left ‘standing on the tarmac outside’ while ‘staff were arguing.’
The chaos is believed to have been an isolated incident, made worse by it being a Sunday during a bank holiday weekend.
That means there were likely fewer staff on hand to cope with the massive influx of passengers.
Still, it raises questions about whether the airport will be ready to cope with constant similar arrival days during the busy summer period.
Hirwan said: ‘Malaga Airports arrivals is a complete mess. My husband is in this queue and hasn’t moved in am hour, and it’s not just Brits stuck in this! It’s ages away from the main hall and down a ramp.
‘This is not anywhere near the lanes for Irish passport holders, or other non Schengen countries so they are all stuck too.
‘Not seen any staff (although can you blame them). I arrived yesterday and it took an hour to get through, they eventually just closed the E-gates… but this is worse.’
She later added in an update: ‘After 1.5 hrs in the queue and people actually standing on tarmac outside , then staff arguing . Suddenly moved a great speed.’
It comes amid wider concerns across Europe over border control delays, particularly following the recent rollout of the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES).
The system requires non-EU travellers, including UK passengers, to register biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images on arrival – a process that can take up to 90 seconds per person and significantly slow down queues.
Ryanair has already warned that the system risks causing ‘hours-long’ delays at passport control during peak travel periods.
The airline has called on European governments to temporarily suspend the EES until September to avoid major disruption during the summer holiday season – which Italy has said it will do.
Portugal is also planning to ‘wave through Brits’ during peak travel times.
They follow in the footsteps of Greece, who was the first country to suspend EES for the summer.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
