With less than two days to go before the European Entry/Exit System goes live, Spain’s busiest holiday gateway for UK visitors—Palma de Mallorca—has confirmed that it will cordon off dedicated “non-Schengen British” lanes to prevent the new biometric procedure from paralysing Easter traffic. The Balearic regional government said the measure was agreed after tests showed that first-time EES enrolment can take up to four minutes per passenger. During peak summer weekends the islands process more than 60 000 UK arrivals a day. Airlines and tour operators have been lobbying Madrid and Brussels for a temporary relaxation, but the European Commission insists the legal start date of 10 April is non-negotiable.
![Balearic airports create ‘Brits-only’ lanes as EES launch nears]()
Whether you’re a holiday-maker planning a short break or a company moving staff into Spain for the season, VisaHQ’s Spain portal (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) offers up-to-date guidance on EES enrolment, ETIAS pre-screening and any visa formalities, and can even send personalised alerts so that you arrive at Palma fully prepared.
Under the contingency plan, British tourists—who represent 26 % of all Balearic visitors—will be funnelled to standalone biometric kiosks manned by additional Guardia Civil officers. The local chamber of commerce warned that “queues of four hours are entirely possible” during the first fortnight and advised travellers to download the EU’s “Travel to Europe” app, already functional in Sweden and Portugal, to preload passport details. Mobility advisers note that the dedicated lanes could become a semi-permanent feature if they succeed in smoothing flows, creating a de-facto separation by nationality that airlines will have to reflect in their boarding-gate processes. Companies moving seasonal staff into the islands are urged to stagger arrival times and build longer connection buffers until performance stabilises.
Whether you’re a holiday-maker planning a short break or a company moving staff into Spain for the season, VisaHQ’s Spain portal (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) offers up-to-date guidance on EES enrolment, ETIAS pre-screening and any visa formalities, and can even send personalised alerts so that you arrive at Palma fully prepared.
Under the contingency plan, British tourists—who represent 26 % of all Balearic visitors—will be funnelled to standalone biometric kiosks manned by additional Guardia Civil officers. The local chamber of commerce warned that “queues of four hours are entirely possible” during the first fortnight and advised travellers to download the EU’s “Travel to Europe” app, already functional in Sweden and Portugal, to preload passport details. Mobility advisers note that the dedicated lanes could become a semi-permanent feature if they succeed in smoothing flows, creating a de-facto separation by nationality that airlines will have to reflect in their boarding-gate processes. Companies moving seasonal staff into the islands are urged to stagger arrival times and build longer connection buffers until performance stabilises.
