Low-cost giant Ryanair has written to the Spanish government and the other 28 Schengen members asking them to switch off the European Entry/Exit System (EES) until September, warning of “hours-long queues” that are already causing passengers to miss flights. The biometric programme, which went live at all Spanish borders on 10 April, replaces passport stamps with fingerprint and facial scans for every non-EU visitor. According to Ryanair’s letter, wait times at Malaga, Alicante, Lanzarote and Tenerife Sur airports have climbed to between 60 and 120 minutes during peak arrival waves.
![Ryanair urges Madrid to suspend EU Entry/Exit System after three weeks of airport chaos]()
For travellers trying to stay ahead of these new procedures, VisaHQ can help streamline the process. Their Spain hub (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) provides real-time updates on EES implementation, Schengen visa requirements, and fast-track documentation services—tools that can shave precious minutes off airport formalities when every second counts.
Spanish airport operator Aena has quietly instructed staff to allow families with small children and people with reduced mobility to bypass the kiosks if queues exceed 25 minutes. Ryanair points to Greece—whose government has deferred full roll-out until after the summer—as proof that EU legislation allows a temporary pause. The airline’s chief operations officer, Neal McMahon, argues that border authorities had “three years’ notice” but underestimated staffing, network resilience and the sheer volume of British and U.S. holidaymakers now funnelling through the system. For business travellers the impact is immediate. Frequent-visitor profiles must be created in person the first time a traveller crosses an external Schengen border after 10 April, adding roughly 90 seconds per person when the kiosks function perfectly; any technical glitch multiplies that delay. Mobility teams are therefore advising executives to allow an extra two hours on departure days and to prioritise smaller regional airports where EES traffic is lighter. Madrid has not yet responded publicly to Ryanair’s demand, but Interior-Ministry sources say contingency staffing from the Policía Nacional will be deployed at Barcelona-El Prat and Madrid-Barajas over the May bank-holiday period. Whether that will be enough to prevent reputational damage to Spain’s crucial summer tourism season remains to be seen.
For travellers trying to stay ahead of these new procedures, VisaHQ can help streamline the process. Their Spain hub (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) provides real-time updates on EES implementation, Schengen visa requirements, and fast-track documentation services—tools that can shave precious minutes off airport formalities when every second counts.
Spanish airport operator Aena has quietly instructed staff to allow families with small children and people with reduced mobility to bypass the kiosks if queues exceed 25 minutes. Ryanair points to Greece—whose government has deferred full roll-out until after the summer—as proof that EU legislation allows a temporary pause. The airline’s chief operations officer, Neal McMahon, argues that border authorities had “three years’ notice” but underestimated staffing, network resilience and the sheer volume of British and U.S. holidaymakers now funnelling through the system. For business travellers the impact is immediate. Frequent-visitor profiles must be created in person the first time a traveller crosses an external Schengen border after 10 April, adding roughly 90 seconds per person when the kiosks function perfectly; any technical glitch multiplies that delay. Mobility teams are therefore advising executives to allow an extra two hours on departure days and to prioritise smaller regional airports where EES traffic is lighter. Madrid has not yet responded publicly to Ryanair’s demand, but Interior-Ministry sources say contingency staffing from the Policía Nacional will be deployed at Barcelona-El Prat and Madrid-Barajas over the May bank-holiday period. Whether that will be enough to prevent reputational damage to Spain’s crucial summer tourism season remains to be seen.
