In a joint letter dated 11 February, Airports Council International Europe (ACI EUROPE), Airlines for Europe (A4E) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned the European Commission that the progressive roll-out of the Schengen Entry/Exit System (EES) is already generating border-control queues of up to two hours—and could reach four hours by July.
Spanish gateways such as Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat are among the worst affected because they handle the EU’s second-largest volume of third-country arrivals after Paris. Hoteliers’ federation CEHAT says delays are tarnishing Spain’s reputation just as the country targets a record 90 million visitors in 2026. Airlines report missed connections and crew-duty overruns, while corporate travel managers complain that VIP fast-track lanes are suspended whenever biometric kiosks malfunction.
The industry groups identify three root causes: chronic understaffing of Policía Nacional booths, technology glitches that knock e-gates offline, and low uptake of the Frontex pre-registration app. They urge Brussels to let member states temporarily suspend full EES checks over the peak summer and extend the grace period beyond 10 April 2026, when manual passport stamping is due to end.
![Airports, Airlines and IATA Demand Emergency Review of EU Entry/Exit System as Queues Mount at Spanish Hubs]()
For travelers seeking additional peace of mind, VisaHQ offers streamlined, up-to-date guidance on Schengen entry requirements along with personalized support for Spain-bound itineraries: https://www.visahq.com/spain/ Using the service to verify documentation and handle pre-trip formalities can reduce uncertainty and help passengers avoid last-minute issues that contribute to airport bottlenecks.
If the Commission refuses, airports fear they will need to repurpose retail space for overflow queuing, hire hundreds of temporary staff and cancel night-time flight slots to avoid breaching labour-hour caps for border officers. For businesses, longer dwell times mean higher ground-handling fees and stricter scheduling buffers. Failure to factor EES processing into itineraries could see travelling executives breach the 90/180 Schengen rule because automated systems will now calculate over-stays to the minute.
Mobility teams should therefore brief travellers on biometric capture, encourage early adoption of the EU’s forthcoming preregistration app, and pad transfer windows by at least 90 minutes when routing through Spanish hubs this spring.
Spanish gateways such as Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat are among the worst affected because they handle the EU’s second-largest volume of third-country arrivals after Paris. Hoteliers’ federation CEHAT says delays are tarnishing Spain’s reputation just as the country targets a record 90 million visitors in 2026. Airlines report missed connections and crew-duty overruns, while corporate travel managers complain that VIP fast-track lanes are suspended whenever biometric kiosks malfunction.
The industry groups identify three root causes: chronic understaffing of Policía Nacional booths, technology glitches that knock e-gates offline, and low uptake of the Frontex pre-registration app. They urge Brussels to let member states temporarily suspend full EES checks over the peak summer and extend the grace period beyond 10 April 2026, when manual passport stamping is due to end.
For travelers seeking additional peace of mind, VisaHQ offers streamlined, up-to-date guidance on Schengen entry requirements along with personalized support for Spain-bound itineraries: https://www.visahq.com/spain/ Using the service to verify documentation and handle pre-trip formalities can reduce uncertainty and help passengers avoid last-minute issues that contribute to airport bottlenecks.
If the Commission refuses, airports fear they will need to repurpose retail space for overflow queuing, hire hundreds of temporary staff and cancel night-time flight slots to avoid breaching labour-hour caps for border officers. For businesses, longer dwell times mean higher ground-handling fees and stricter scheduling buffers. Failure to factor EES processing into itineraries could see travelling executives breach the 90/180 Schengen rule because automated systems will now calculate over-stays to the minute.
Mobility teams should therefore brief travellers on biometric capture, encourage early adoption of the EU’s forthcoming preregistration app, and pad transfer windows by at least 90 minutes when routing through Spanish hubs this spring.
