Spain is facing growing pressure over airport border delays as several southern European countries move to ease the impact of the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System, or EES.
Greece, Portugal and Italy have introduced or discussed partial suspensions and operational flexibilities to prevent passport-control bottlenecks during the summer peak, while Spain has so far made only limited changes despite being one of the countries most affected.
The EES requires airlines and border authorities to register biometric and personal data before travellers enter the Schengen area. Since the system was fully deployed in April, airports in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece have reported long queues and delays at passport control.
The article said the International Air Transport Association and several European organisations have warned that waits could reach 4 hours in the busiest months if no fixes are introduced. Industry groups say the system, in its current form, is not working smoothly at busy airports and is causing congestion at automatic gates.
Italy has already stepped up pressure on Brussels for more room to manage the system. The country’s main airport and airline associations sent a joint letter to the interior ministry calling for flexibility to suspend the EES temporarily when congestion becomes extreme.
Portugal has also introduced some operational relief at airports, especially in Lisbon, where authorities temporarily suspended part of the system to cut waiting times. Greece initially announced exceptions for British travellers, then clarified its position, but still retains the option to pause biometric checks when airports become overcrowded.
Brussels has now accepted that member states may partially suspend the EES during critical summer periods to avoid border disruptions. Spain, by contrast, has not announced a major change, even as warnings from the aviation sector grow louder.
Ryanair has called for a temporary suspension of the system at Spanish airports and accused authorities of leaving the rollout half-finished. The airline says the result is waits of more than 1 hour and missed flights.
“Some travellers spend more time at passport control than on the flight itself,” said Neal McMahon, director of operations at Ryanair.
The new controls have become a wider test of how Europe handles border management during the summer travel season. For Spain, the issue is especially sensitive because the country is one of the region’s biggest tourism markets and a key arrival point for international passengers.
Airports in the south of Europe handle heavy passenger flows in summer, and any extra delay at border control can quickly spread through terminals. Travel groups say even short disruptions can have a knock-on effect on aircraft departures, transfer times and airport staffing.
Industry criticism has focused not just on the delays, but on the pace of implementation. Airlines argue that the EES was introduced before enough operational testing had been completed at some major hubs. They say the system needs more flexibility to reflect real airport conditions rather than a fixed one-size-fits-all approach.
Spain’s response so far has been more cautious than that of its neighbours. While other countries have signalled readiness to intervene when queues build up, Spain has largely kept the system in place with only minor adjustments. That has left passengers, airlines and airport operators waiting for a clearer plan ahead of the busy summer months.
The debate is likely to intensify if waiting times lengthen further. With the peak travel season approaching, the ability of governments to balance security checks with passenger flow is becoming a central question for Europe’s busiest airports.
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