The Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT) has called on the Ministry of the Interior to urgently reinforce police personnel and ensure that control systems are fully operational at Spain’s main international airports. According to the association, long queues and prolonged waiting times at passport control have become ‘a structural problem that seriously damages the traveller’s experience and Spain’s image as a top tourist destination in a highly competitive environment’.
This situation, which has already been repeatedly denounced by hotel associations in different regions, particularly affects airports with a high volume of international passengers. At these facilities, the massive arrival of non-EU travellers – especially from the United Kingdom following Brexit – causes recurring bottlenecks at border controls, slowing down the flow of people entering the country.
CEHAT stresses that the problem is neither temporary nor circumstantial and complains that biometric and technological control systems are not yet operating at full capacity, with serious deficiencies in their operating times. The confederation points out that this lack of technological optimisation is compounded by the insufficient number of police officers to meet the actual demand, which exacerbates waiting times in the international transit areas of airport infrastructure.
The president of CEHAT, Jorge Marichal, has denounced that this is a common situation in many airports that requires an immediate and coordinated response from the State, describing it as ‘unreasonable’ that tourists face waits of an hour or more to enter the country after a journey of several hours.
The association points out that these delays not only cause discomfort among visitors, but also affect residents and workers, damaging the reputation of the Spanish tourism industry as a whole. In addition, the organisation stresses that the impact of these waits is particularly serious for vulnerable groups such as families with young children, elderly people or travellers with special needs, for whom standing for long periods of time is an added burden.
The association regrets that, in the face of a widely known reality, there is no empathetic or sufficient response from infrastructure managers or those responsible for entry control, ‘despite the fact that these are profiles that require special attention’. For all these reasons, CEHAT has made a formal appeal to the Ministry of the Interior to adopt urgent and structural measures, including the optimisation of technological border control systems and resource planning in line with the sustained growth of international tourism.
Marichal concluded by warning that the quality of the tourist experience begins at the airport itself and that ‘Spain cannot allow the first contact of millions of visitors with our country to be an endless queue at passport control. This is also part of the Spain brand and we must protect it’.
From Friday 9 January, the EU Entry Exit System (EES), which launched in October 2025, has increased the number of airports and ports that have the new system in operation, as well as the number of passengers going through the system. ABTA says that passengers’ experience of the EES rollout so far has been varied, from relatively smooth to incidents where large queues have formed at passport control. The Association says there is a risk that more people will experience queues as the system is rolled out to more places over the next few months and is urging border authorities to apply the contingency measures available to them.
Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA – The Travel Association said: “The EES is a change to how we travel to and from Europe, and while eventually it will make passport checks quicker, initially it may take longer. As more places introduce the system, and more passengers are processed through it, there is a greater risk that people will face queues and delays. It’s important travellers are prepared for this as they prepare to go through passport control.
“We are also urging border authorities to do all they can to minimise delays. They have contingency measures at their disposal – such as standing down the system or limiting checks – and we want them to be utilised to help manage the flow of people. Where problems have been experienced so far, some of these could have been avoided if the contingency measures were applied.”