Calls for EES scheme suspension

Many passengers arriving at Lanzarote’s César Manrique Airport continue to experience long queues and delays following the introduction of the EES scheme. But Lanzarote is not alone…

In the Canaries, Tenerife South and Gran Canaria have also experienced long queues, while elsewhere Lisbon Airport suspended the registration of biometric data for three months. Delays and technical problems have also led to France and Belgium postponing the introduction of the scheme, which should have been fully operational by April 10th.

Problems have generally arisen from shortage of staff at busy times and technical hitches with the new EES machines.

Earlier this year, the Airports Council International (ACI) commented: “There is a complete disconnect between the perception of the EU institutions that EES is working well, and the reality, which is that non-EU travellers are experiencing massive delays and inconvenience. This must come to an end immediately.”

Shortly afterwards, the EU announced that member states could introduce contingency measures allowing them to postpone the scheme for up to 150 days, but that there would be a final deadline in September. However, there has been no discussion of possible postponement in Spain or the Canaries, and the deadline for suspension was on the 10th April.

Two days after that date, the ACI demanded that “border control agents must be allowed to fully suspend the EES when waiting times become excessive.”

Lanzarote’s year-round season means fears of a summer rush are not so strong, but the island has been having its own problems since well before EES was introduced. In July 2024, border officers at the airport were ordered to stamp all passports of third-country nationals after it was revealed that airport authorities had told them not to do so “to make the passage of British tourists easier.”

This order followed a court case which revealed that senior officials in the police had fraudulently increased staff numbers in order to pass an airport inspection in 2023. Complaints about staff shortages from the border agents themselves initiated the case, and although more staff have been contracted since, it is unclear whether numbers have been sufficient.

The introduction of the EES scheme has only added to the problems, as thousands of British passengers at Arrecife have had to register their fingerprints and a facial scan on arrival, in addition to having their passports stamped. For many, this goes smoothly, but problems are still occurring on busy days when several planes from the UK land in few hours, such as Thursdays and Saturdays.

Locally, Lanzarote’s Cabildo and tourist federation have called for immediate solutions to the queues, but responses from the Spanish Interior Ministry, AENA and the EU have generally failed to acknowledge the problems.