From 06 November passengers arriving at Tenerife South Airport (TFS) face a new procedure: self-service kiosks that capture a facial image (and fingerprints for those over 12) before they meet a border-police officer. The launch marks Spain’s first full deployment of the EU Entry/Exit System outside Madrid after limited tests at Barajas last month. The British Embassy, which briefed tour operators, is advising holidaymakers to arrive “well ahead of flight time” for at least the first fortnight.
Under EES, every non-resident visitor’s entry and departure are logged electronically, eliminating passport stamps and automatically calculating remaining Schengen-area days. Travellers will answer standard questions about trip purpose, accommodation and means of support; biometric data remain valid for three years unless the person obtains a new passport.
![Tenerife South Becomes Spain’s First Airport to Activate EU Biometric Entry/Exit System]()
Airport operator Aena has installed 36 kiosks and eight e-gates in the non-EU arrivals hall. During the first morning wave, National Police processed 642 passengers off flights from Manchester, Paris-Orly and São Paulo; average queue time was 18 minutes, compared with a 27-minute baseline during October’s All-Saints holiday.
The Canaries’ hospitality sector – heavily dependent on British leisure traffic – welcomes the upgrade, arguing it will reassure travellers once initial teething issues pass. However, hotel associations caution that over-60s and families with young children may need staff assistance and have called for multilingual on-screen prompts.
For corporate mobility planners the key takeaway is timing: once Madrid formally switches Barajas to EES in December, Spain will begin phasing out stamp-based overstay calculations. Employers should audit Schengen-day trackers used for their frequent-flyer workforces and align them with the new automated records to avoid inadvertent overstays.
Under EES, every non-resident visitor’s entry and departure are logged electronically, eliminating passport stamps and automatically calculating remaining Schengen-area days. Travellers will answer standard questions about trip purpose, accommodation and means of support; biometric data remain valid for three years unless the person obtains a new passport.
Airport operator Aena has installed 36 kiosks and eight e-gates in the non-EU arrivals hall. During the first morning wave, National Police processed 642 passengers off flights from Manchester, Paris-Orly and São Paulo; average queue time was 18 minutes, compared with a 27-minute baseline during October’s All-Saints holiday.
The Canaries’ hospitality sector – heavily dependent on British leisure traffic – welcomes the upgrade, arguing it will reassure travellers once initial teething issues pass. However, hotel associations caution that over-60s and families with young children may need staff assistance and have called for multilingual on-screen prompts.
For corporate mobility planners the key takeaway is timing: once Madrid formally switches Barajas to EES in December, Spain will begin phasing out stamp-based overstay calculations. Employers should audit Schengen-day trackers used for their frequent-flyer workforces and align them with the new automated records to avoid inadvertent overstays.
