Just five days before Spain’s first national EES trial in Madrid, Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport quietly switched on its own pilot on 20 October, and by Saturday 25 October the system had processed more than 6,000 arrivals from the UK, U.S. and Morocco without a single technical failure, officials told regional daily SUR.
For one hour each morning, travellers on selected flights are channelled to new biometric kiosks where they scan their passports, place four fingers on a reader and pose for a photo. Police then carry out a secondary check at automated e-gates. The whole process averages 72 seconds—longer than the current manual stamp but well within the two-minute target set by the EU’s agency eu-LISA.
Málaga is Spain’s fourth-busiest airport and the main gateway to Andalucía’s booming tourism and second-home market, handling over 19 million passengers in 2024. Airport director Pedro Bendala said the early test “gives us a head-start” before the winter influx of British residents returning for school half-term. Additional lanes and signage will be added each week until full roll-out next spring.
Local hoteliers welcome the modernisation but fear initial teething problems could hit satisfaction scores. The Costa del Sol Hotel Federation is working with the police to provide multilingual leaflets on coaches and in arrival halls explaining why fingerprints are required and reminding non-EU homeowners to carry proof of residency.
Immigration lawyers note that the pilot also reveals a grey area: UK retirees with Spanish residency cards who arrive on passports with less than three months’ validity are being diverted to manual booths, risking denial of entry. Bendala said staff are being briefed to apply flexibility during the test phase.
For one hour each morning, travellers on selected flights are channelled to new biometric kiosks where they scan their passports, place four fingers on a reader and pose for a photo. Police then carry out a secondary check at automated e-gates. The whole process averages 72 seconds—longer than the current manual stamp but well within the two-minute target set by the EU’s agency eu-LISA.
Málaga is Spain’s fourth-busiest airport and the main gateway to Andalucía’s booming tourism and second-home market, handling over 19 million passengers in 2024. Airport director Pedro Bendala said the early test “gives us a head-start” before the winter influx of British residents returning for school half-term. Additional lanes and signage will be added each week until full roll-out next spring.
Local hoteliers welcome the modernisation but fear initial teething problems could hit satisfaction scores. The Costa del Sol Hotel Federation is working with the police to provide multilingual leaflets on coaches and in arrival halls explaining why fingerprints are required and reminding non-EU homeowners to carry proof of residency.
Immigration lawyers note that the pilot also reveals a grey area: UK retirees with Spanish residency cards who arrive on passports with less than three months’ validity are being diverted to manual booths, risking denial of entry. Bendala said staff are being briefed to apply flexibility during the test phase.
