Passengers have reported scenes of ‘absolute chaos’ at Malaga Airport tonight after allegedly being forced to wait for over two hours in passport queues.
Spaniard Jota Carmona shared a video on X showing snaking lines forming by the biometric scanners in the arrivals area of the travel hub.
He fumed: ‘Absolute chaos at Malaga Airport with the passport controls. Over two hours of waiting.
‘I’m absolutely certain that the Spanish Government is trying to fix it. Right?
‘What a shameful permanent punishment for Malaga.’
It comes as thousands of extra Brits are expected to arrive this weekend as it is a UK bank holiday on Monday.
Another traveller also caught in the carnage said: ‘Malaga Airport passport control is a total disgrace!’
The latest scenes come ahead of what is expected to be one of the busiest summer seasons on record for Malaga Airport.
It has repeatedly faced criticism over long passport queues since Brexit, particularly following the rollout of the EU’s controversial Entry/Exit System (EES), which requires non-EU travellers – including Brits – to undergo biometric fingerprint and facial scans when entering or leaving the Schengen zone.
While most of the time it functions well, the system appears to collapse or become overwhelmed during peak travel days and hours.
The system officially became fully operational in April 2026, but it has already sparked chaos at airports across Spain and Europe, with passengers reporting waits of up to four hours and some even missing flights.
Ryanair has repeatedly demanded that Spain suspend the EES rollout until September, warning that airports including Malaga, Alicante, Tenerife and Lanzarote are already suffering ‘hours-long passport control queues’ due to staff shortages, malfunctioning kiosks and inadequate preparation by authorities.
The airline has argued that passengers are in some cases spending longer in passport queues than on the flights themselves, particularly during busy holiday weekends and school breaks.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary recently branded the system a ‘shambles’ and warned the disruption will worsen dramatically once the peak summer holidays begin.
