Two years after the European Union began piloting its new Entry/Exit System (EES), Spain’s busiest holiday gateway is still struggling to cope. Travellers passing through Málaga–Costa del Sol Airport on 26–27 December reported passport-control waits of up to two hours as border officers battled kiosk outages and staff shortages. The EES replaces the manual stamping of third-country passports with a digital record that includes face and fingerprint biometrics, but the technology remains in “live test” mode.
Airlines reacted quickly. Ryanair sent warning e-mails urging passengers to arrive three hours before departure, while easyJet activated contingency staff in the departure hall to shepherd late-running passengers through fast-track lanes. Local hoteliers fear the negative headlines could dent the vital winter-sun market that keeps Costa del Sol occupancy above 70 % between January and March.
![Christmas biometric bottlenecks leave Málaga passengers queuing for two hours]()
For business-travel managers, the chaos adds unplanned costs. Missed connections to Madrid or Seville mean re-issued tickets and extra hotel nights, and mobility teams are now padding itineraries with longer layovers. Several multinational firms told VisaHQ they are shifting short-notice meetings to Madrid—despite higher ground-transport costs—because Barajas has more immigration lanes and dedicated corporate fast-track counters.
Spain’s Interior Ministry insists the glitches are temporary and that nationwide deployment will resume after Three Kings Day on 6 January. Industry bodies, however, want a pause until hardware reliability improves. If bottlenecks persist into the spring trade-fair season, event organisers warn that some conferences may migrate to alternative hubs such as Lisbon or Dublin, depriving Andalucía of lucrative MICE revenue.
Airlines reacted quickly. Ryanair sent warning e-mails urging passengers to arrive three hours before departure, while easyJet activated contingency staff in the departure hall to shepherd late-running passengers through fast-track lanes. Local hoteliers fear the negative headlines could dent the vital winter-sun market that keeps Costa del Sol occupancy above 70 % between January and March.
For business-travel managers, the chaos adds unplanned costs. Missed connections to Madrid or Seville mean re-issued tickets and extra hotel nights, and mobility teams are now padding itineraries with longer layovers. Several multinational firms told VisaHQ they are shifting short-notice meetings to Madrid—despite higher ground-transport costs—because Barajas has more immigration lanes and dedicated corporate fast-track counters.
Spain’s Interior Ministry insists the glitches are temporary and that nationwide deployment will resume after Three Kings Day on 6 January. Industry bodies, however, want a pause until hardware reliability improves. If bottlenecks persist into the spring trade-fair season, event organisers warn that some conferences may migrate to alternative hubs such as Lisbon or Dublin, depriving Andalucía of lucrative MICE revenue.
Source: VisaHQ Global Mobility News
