Ryanair Warns Spain Over Summer Passport Queues
Ryanair has again urged the Spanish Government to pause the rollout of the EU Entry/Exit System until September, after passengers faced long passport control queues over the May Bank Holiday weekend. The airline said some people travelling through Spanish airports waited for about an hour, while others missed flights because border checks took too long during the busy holiday period.
The airline said Spain had known for more than three years that EES would become fully operational on 10 April 2026. Ryanair argues that staffing, working kiosks and system readiness have not been enough to cope with demand. It wants the system suspended until the end of the peak summer season, following the approach already taken by Greece.
What Ryanair Is Asking For
Ryanair says Spain should:
- pause EES checks until September
- increase staffing and working border-control equipment
- reduce queues before the summer peak
- prevent more missed flights linked to passport delays
Chief Operations Officer Neal McMahon said some passengers had spent almost as long at passport control as they did on the flight itself.
The issue matters most for people heading to Spain’s busiest holiday airports, especially during school breaks, weekends and morning departure waves. A pause or smoother rollout could make trips to coastal resorts, island flights, city breaks in Madrid or Barcelona and onward travel plans less stressful, particularly for families or passengers with tight connections.
“It makes no sense that countries, like Spain, are continuing to implement the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) when they are clearly not ready to do so. As a result of this half-baked system roll out, passengers are being forced to endure excessive passport control queues, and in some cases, missing flights. This May Bank Holiday weekend alone, passengers travelling to/from Spain were made suffer hour-long passport control queues."
The practical takeaway is not to panic, but to leave more time than usual at Spanish airports while the dispute continues. EES is meant to modernise border checks, yet a rushed rollout can turn a short flight into a long queue. Until Spain changes course or adds capacity, early arrival is the least glamorous travel hack, but probably the most useful one.