An influential political party in the Canaries is planning to ask Spain to suspend new entry and exit (EES) checks for holidaymakers to the islands.
The call follows a decision by Greece to suspend EES for British arrivals last month.
Members of the main centre-right People’s Party, (Partido Popular), which is a key coalition partner in the regional government, said the EU-wide EES has led to long queues and congestion at airports.
PP tourism spokesperson David Morales has argued that the EES rollout, which was due to be fully operational on 10 April, has ‘fallen short of expectations’, according to a report in Canarian Weekly.
He has also said he is concerned about the ‘reputational damage’ caused to the Canary Islands by images circulated abroad of long queues at airports, including Tenerife South.
He suggested this could harm the islands’ image as ‘a smooth and welcoming destination’, said the publication.
There have been reports of hours-long delays at EU airports, for both arriving and departing passengers, since EES was introduced and some passengers have even missed their flights home as a result.
The PP wants to invoke EU Regulation 2025/1534, which allows EU member states to temporarily suspend EES at specific border crossings in case of technical failures or where excessive traffic leads to significant delays.
It said the measure would be temporary, to allow technical and operational shortcomings to be resolved.
The PP has blamed queues on ‘insufficient tehnological resources’ and a ‘lack of adequately equipped biometric data capture systems’, along with a shortage of National Police officers at airport checkpoints.
In addition, David Morales has called on airport body, AENA, to ensure that airport facilities are properly adapted to manage passenger flows, particularly during peak travel periods on routes to and from the UK.
The PP’s proposal will be debated in the regional parliament, where the PP is seeking formal backing to press Spain for action.
