My horrendous 3-hour wait at Spanish airport is a warning shot for all Brit holidaymakers this summer
SPANISH sun and a sense of calm was what I was expecting to greet me at Lanzarote Airport – instead I spend the first three hours of my holiday queuing to get out of the arrivals hall.
Because thousands of travellers like myself were stuck in huge queues, thanks to the new EES system – and with Easter and summer season on the way, I can see it getting worse.
My Jet2 flight landed at half past one on a Thursday afternoon in early March and I didn’t get out until just after half past four.
The queues stretched along the corridor and zigzagged all the way through the arrivals hall that took passengers to EES registration.
I’d already signed up to EES, having visited Lithuania a few months ago – but that was no use at all.
There was no separate queue for – or any staff for that matter – advising those who have registered to head straight to the passport e-gates.
While this was frustrating, what was even more so was that only half of the EES machines were actually working.
When I finally made it to my bus transfer, even the Jet2Holidays rep said she’d ‘never seen delays this bad’.
While Lanzarote has had a bad rep for lengthy queues in recent weeks, they are by no means the only ones.
The Sun travel team has been to various airports across Europe since the start of 2026 and many of them have had much longer queues than usual.
Like in Lanzarote, in some places only half the EES machines are working.
In other destinations, all of the machines are switched off until around midday. So it’ s pure luck as to whether you’ll even get to sign up.
Thanks to its winter sun offering, Lanzarote is one of the first airports to really show what an issue the new system could be for Brits this summer – when millions of visitors arrive for their annual holidays across Europe.
Lanzarote Airport has been subject to ‘bottlenecking’ which is a term used when there are too many flights at once and it causes congestion in the airport.
It’s no surprise really, Lanzarote is a small island with a small airport.
Around 100 planes land at the airport each day and over one million British tourists visit Lanzarote each year, with more heading there over the Easter and summer holidays.
Looking at planned flights on flightradar24 for Thursday 19 March 2026, there are almost 40 from the UK alone, with just under 100 flights in total scheduled for the day.
Between 2pm and 3pm there are 10 flights due from the UK.
Two from Glasgow arrive at the same time, and others are within five and ten-minute intervals.
With the queues in Lanzarote reportedly reaching four hours, I’ve seen parents fearing travel chaos for their upcoming holiday.
One mum even started a forum on Mumsnet with the subject ‘Lanzarote airport actual chaos or exaggerated drama’.
In the comments, one recent visitor described the airport as a ‘madhouse’.
Another, who went on holiday around the same time as me, described it as an “absolute nightmare” and has even cancelled their booking in April as a result.
The lengthy wait times are likely to crop up at other European destinations too because of the new EES requirement.
Delays have been reported at airports like Brussels, Lisbon and Prague, and officials have even called for the EES to be delayed until after the summer holidays.
Other airports are looking for solutions.
At some operated by Aena, like Ibiza, Menorca, Malaga and Palma, Majorca – there could be a Brit only lane at border control to ease congestion.
As for Lanzarote, if you want to make the most of your arrival on the island, then I’d suggest booking an earlier flight so you’ll still have the afternoon to explore.
Otherwise all there is to do is line up and wait patiently.
Head of Sun Travel Lisa Minot reveals how EES will impact travellers during school holidays…
The impending deadline requiring all EU countries to be processing all passengers using the new Entry Exit System (EES) is looming and as Easter approaches we could see chaos across the continent.
We’ve seen significant disruption already as UK holidaymakers are caught up in hours-long queues to provide their details and unless the right staffing is in place, things could get much worse.
Speaking to the former boss of easyJet last year, he warned me airports could become overwhelmed and airlines may be forced to keep passengers on planes on arrival – throwing tight flight schedules into chaos.
The issue as far as I am concerned is the lack of joined up thinking and common systems. Every airport in every country I have travelled through since the system was launched has a different way of channelling passengers through the passport checking process.
At Rome last week, the kiosk I was directed to successfully took my biometric picture but seemed incapable of processing my fingerprints and I was directed to a customs agent for a traditional stamp.
Returning from Barcelona, no kiosks were in operation at all and we simply went through an e-Gate with no fingerprints checked and again, were directed to an agent for a stamp.
Bigger airports with the resources to invest in the costly equipment are probably going to be easy to travel through.
Whether that will be the same for smaller, regional airports that already struggle to cope with large crowds in busy periods remains to be seen.
Airlines and airports are lobbying the EU to allow the rules to be relaxed should large crowds start to build.
That seems imminently sensible to me as from may recent experiences, the system is not yet up and running efficiently – Head of Sun Travel, Lisa Minot
For more about the new travel requirements this summer – here’s everything you need to know about EES.
And for more travel inspiration, here are the bucket list 2026 holidays you should go on for every month of the year.
