Reader’s Letters – February 2026

Our readers regularly send us messages and emails regarding Lanzarote, here are some of your thoughts that we printed in the February edition.

Readers are reminded that views and comments expressed within the Ed’s Postbag page are those of the contributors and may not necessarily reflect the opinions or standpoint of our staff. It should also be noted that we are an independent publication free from political persuasion or governmental censorship.

EES QUERY

Dear Gazette, We arrived on the island yesterday afternoon to be confronted by a large queue at passport control due to the use of the new EES computers.

We didn’t mind this, as we thought that once this had been done, things would be easier next time we visited our apartment, as all we’d have to do is scan our face or finger prints and we’d be through passport control.

When we were scanning our passport and faces a member of staff approached us said we’d done everything we needed to do and asked us to carry on. We hadn’t scanned our fingerprints at this point, which confused us and I asked why we didn’t have to do this. He repeated that we were done and I asked would we have to complete this process again next time we entered Lanzarote and he said yes, every time we enter Lanzarote.

Now this to me seems incorrect, as I thought that once EES was completed, we wouldn’t have to do it again. Also, I noticed that there wasn’t a queue available for people who had already registered to go straight through to have their passports stamped.

Do you have any details as to what the situation is in Lanzarote, regarding the EES system is please?

Thanks, Mark Nash

Ed: The EES is still being phased in and is not yet applied to all flights that arrive. It seems as though your flight was exempted and only had to pass the separate e-gates which check passports. However, once the scheme is fully up and running, you’ll have to register a facial scan and fingerprints, and these are likely to be checked on subsequent visits.

JELLYFISH ALERT

After sea slugs/ jelly fish were observed on beach near Fariones yesterday, the lifeguard was thankfully quick to close the beach for swimming.

I am wondering if you have any idea how long the slugs/ jelly fish generally stay around for?

Lar McCarthy

Ed: We weren’t aware of this incident, but we’re guessing that it was a sighting of either jellyfish or the sea slugs called blue dragons. Beaches are rarely closed for more than a day or two when these are observed, and incidents are very rare on the beaches in the tourist areas – we haven’t heard of a jellyfish warning in the resorts for several years. It’s always best to heed the lifeguards, though.

AIRPORT INCIDENT

Dear Gazette,

On 28th December we were queuing at the Aer Lingus check in for our return flight home. We heard a terrible bang and noticed an elderly man in the queue had collapsed and banged his head on the tiled floor. He was totally unresponsive and looked in a very bad way.

Two things were most upsetting: no one at the airport seemed to have experience in what to do in such a situation. The man could have collapsed due to a heart attack. The second issue was that two airport staff came with a wheelchair and lifted him up into the chair. This man shouldn’t have been moved by untrained staff. It was obvious from the blood he had sustained a head injury and a possible neck injury. No thought was given to this poor man. It was very distressing to watch the lack of care or indeed respect shown to him. It beggars’ belief in such an airport there were no protocols for such an event.

We don’t know what happened to the poor man as check in proceeded as if nothing had happened throughout this terrible incident.

Kate Ed: We haven’t heard any reports of this incident, Kate, and it certainly sounds worrying. The airport has defibrillators available and claims to have trained staff on hand to apply First Aid and assistance, as well as a First Aid post downstairs in the arrivals area.