On Andalucía Day, 28 February, the opposition Partido Popular used the festivity’s media spotlight to denounce what it calls the “collapse” of EU-border controls at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport, Spain’s fourth-busiest international gateway. Provincial coordinator Cristóbal Ortega told reporters that non-EU passengers routinely face multi-hour waits to clear the new biometric checks required under the Entry/Exit System. He accused Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Transport Minister Óscar Puente of failing to allocate the additional 200 National-Police officers promised for EES implementation. Airport stakeholders back the criticism. Hoteliers in the Costa del Sol federation report tour-operator threats to reroute charter traffic to Faro or Gibraltar if queues persist into the Easter peak.
![Opposition Slams ‘Unmanageable’ Passport Queues at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport]()
Travellers looking for extra reassurance about evolving document rules can turn to VisaHQ, whose dedicated Spain section (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) tracks EES updates in real time and offers step-by-step visa, passport and pre-clearance support. The platform’s advisory tools and courier services help both holidaymakers and corporate flyers minimise paperwork snags before they even reach the airport.
Low-cost carrier Vueling says boarding delays triggered by late-arriving passengers have already forced the airline to re-time five evening rotations, adding €42 000 in crew-overnight costs during February alone. The Interior Ministry counters that Málaga processed 12.6 million third-country nationals in 2025—up 21 % on the previous year—and that phased biometric registration is “inevitably slower” during the first months of the programme. Yet police unions insist that without mobile enrolment stations and overtime authorisations before summer, Málaga risks becoming the poster-child for EES dysfunction. For global-mobility teams, the message is practical: advise travellers arriving from outside Schengen (including UK citizens) to allow at least two extra hours, to pre-fill arrival cards where possible and to keep itineraries flexible until staffing levels stabilise. Companies with frequent flyers may also consider rerouting through Seville or Madrid, where EES bottlenecks are currently shorter.
Travellers looking for extra reassurance about evolving document rules can turn to VisaHQ, whose dedicated Spain section (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) tracks EES updates in real time and offers step-by-step visa, passport and pre-clearance support. The platform’s advisory tools and courier services help both holidaymakers and corporate flyers minimise paperwork snags before they even reach the airport.
Low-cost carrier Vueling says boarding delays triggered by late-arriving passengers have already forced the airline to re-time five evening rotations, adding €42 000 in crew-overnight costs during February alone. The Interior Ministry counters that Málaga processed 12.6 million third-country nationals in 2025—up 21 % on the previous year—and that phased biometric registration is “inevitably slower” during the first months of the programme. Yet police unions insist that without mobile enrolment stations and overtime authorisations before summer, Málaga risks becoming the poster-child for EES dysfunction. For global-mobility teams, the message is practical: advise travellers arriving from outside Schengen (including UK citizens) to allow at least two extra hours, to pre-fill arrival cards where possible and to keep itineraries flexible until staffing levels stabilise. Companies with frequent flyers may also consider rerouting through Seville or Madrid, where EES bottlenecks are currently shorter.
