Many were queuing for hours and missed their flights
Malaga Airport(Image: Twitter/winding_sios)
Irish holidaymakers can expect massive delays when they fly home from the Costa del Sol after their Christmas holidays.
There has been absolute chaos with passengers trying to leave Malaga airport all week due to the introduction of the new EES – entry and exit system – for those trying to travel to locations like Ireland and Britain, which are outside the Schengen area. Many were queuing for hours and missed their flights.
Ryanair has now issued a warning to all its customers flying from Malaga and other Spanish locations to get there early and get through border control as quickly as possible. It stated: “Please be advised that longer queues are being recorded at passenger control at Spanish airports due to the introduction of the EES for passengers travelling outside the Schengen area.
“We recommend passengers arrive at the terminal with extra time before their flight and go directly to security and passport control after dropping off their luggage to avoid any hold ups.” Ryanair blamed the Spanish National Police for the delays and claimed they were not adequately prepared for the rollout of the new passport control system. It has now requested the Spanish authorities to urgently try and resolve the issue.
Passengers have been reporting huge delays at Malaga in particular, especially for departures all over the festive period which is one of the busiest times of the year on the Costa. Thousands of Irish holidaymakers flee to Spain over the Christmas period to try and get some winter sunshine during the shortest days of the year. The vast majority will be due to return over the coming days before returning to work next Monday.
The Schengen Area is a zone of 29 European countries that have abolished internal border controls, allowing for free movements of people similar to a single country. It is operated under a common visa policy for external travel.
Because Ireland is an island off Europe it is not included in the Schengen Area so passports have to be shown, and now recorded under the new system every time an Irish citizen enters or leaves the EU country visited.
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