We asked our readers what their experiences of the new Entry/Exit System passport at Spanish airports have been since the launch last October, including how long they had to queue and if the passport and fingerprint scanning machines were working.
The EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) is now in place at numerous Spanish airports, but there are reports of it causing several issues at some arrival terminals, with long queues, delays and machines that are not working properly.
The EES system came into effect on October 12th 2025 and airports across the EU have until April 10th, 2026, to roll it out fully. Madrid was the first airport to implement it on October 12th, followed by other airports over the last two months.
The idea is to collect biometric data from non-resident, non-EU passengers by using special machines which take passengers’ fingerprints and photos, among other information.
READ ALSO: ‘Damaging’ – Hoteliers urge Spain to fix long queues for EES checks at airports
While some airports in Spain seemed to roll it out seamlessly, it is still an issue at others.
In fact, it’s been such a change that even Spanish hospitality bosses are complaining.
The Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT) has urged Spain’s Interior Ministry to immediately bolster police numbers at Spanish airports and ensure the full operation of new EES control systems.
According to the group, the long queues and waiting times at passport control have become “a structural problem that seriously damages tourists’ experiences as well as Spain’s image as a top-level tourist destination in a highly competitive environment.”
CEHAT points out that this problem, denounced on numerous occasions by hotel associations in different parts of the country, is particularly troublesome at airports with a high influx of international passengers, such as Málaga, Tenerife South or Lanzarote, among other prominent tourist destinations.
READ MORE: Which airports in Spain are having problems with the EES launch?
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The Local asked our readers what their experiences of EES had been so far and here are the results.
It’s safe to say that many have had their issues arriving in Spain, with several airports seemingly forced to skip the new EES protocols to avoid long queues.
Pete, from the UK, said that “On the whole it’s been fine, but there was one time the queues out of Málaga got really long and in the end they just had to process without the EES to work down the queue.”
Others highlighted that many travellers couldn’t get the machines to work properly, further adding to backlogs on the border. According to Carl from the US: “The process could have been better and it could have been worse. It took us about 40 minutes from start to final clearance through passport control. Most delays were from passengers trying to figure out how to register with the machines, which demanded precise positioning for facial and fingerprint scans.”
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Several readers responded to say that the machines simply didn’t work for them.
One UK resident with a holiday property in Spain for their own use for over 25 years reported that the “Alicante machine would not register my fingerprints”.
Russ also returned via Alicante and said that “the queue for fist part… [i.e] finger print was about 15 people long but machines would not accept finger print and my wife was told to go to the manual security process”.
Others reported airport staff not making use of all the EES machines at Spanish airports.
Travelling to Gran Canaria, Bill, said that although there were some issues, it was “not a big problem.”
Again citing machines not being used, he added: “Coming from London Stansted to Gran Canaria we had a 1 hour plus entry delay, basically only half of the machines ready”.
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Allan, arriving in Barcelona, described how “people appeared to be channelled towards what looked like electronic machines to record the data. Out of about 15 only 2 seemed to be switched on.”
“Nobody seemed to be able to do what they were supposed to be so the airport staff were constantly there – similar to a self service checkout in a supermarket when you need to buy alcohol! After about 6 people used these they seemed to break or be turned off and everyone was directed to the regular passport booths. All in all it took us about an hour to pass through passport control. Not really sure where all the guards were or what the point of the electronic gates are for if not being used and as for the EES machines – still haven’t had any date recorded. Just seems like a massive waste of time and money!” he added.
Paul, also arriving in Barcelona, reporting that the “BCN T1 exit in particular has gone from pretty good to awful” and that the arrivals machines are not at full capacity: “There are (as of last week) only a couple of the EES registration machines working.”
He also said that airport staff seemed as confused and unprepared as travellers: The people managing the entry to the queues clearly have absolutely no clue as to what the rules are, how they should be implemented in Barcelona and how to manage exemptions. Complete shambles, and it’s not a busy non-Schengen airport”.
READ ALSO: Which airports in Spain are having problems with the EES launch?
