Ryanair has urged the Spanish Government to suspend the rollout of the EU’s passport control Entry/Exit System (EES) until September to avoid long queues in peak summer.
The airline said passengers are ‘suffering long passport control queues and, in some cases, missing their flights’ because of delays.
It said: “Long queue times for passengers are already in excess of one-two hours at Malaga, Alicante, Lanzarote, Tenerife South, Gran Canaria, Reus and Fuerteventura airports, where a lack of staff and system outages continue to cause unnecessary disruption to our passengers.”
Ryanair praised Greece’s ‘pragmatic approach’ to easing EES checks. The airline said it has ‘written to Governments across the 29 EES countries – including [Spanish Interior Minister] Minister Grande Marlaska – urging them to suspend EES until September– as Greece has already done – and ensure smooth airport operations for passengers this summer’.
Chief Operations Officer Neal McMahon said: “Governments across Europe are attempting to roll out a half-baked IT system in the middle of the busiest travel season of the year, and passengers are paying the price, being forced to endure hours long passport control queues and in some cases, missing flights.
The solution is simple and already provided for under EU law (EU Reg. 2025/1534) – governments should suspend EES until September when the peak summer travel season has subsided, just as Greece has done. This would allow passengers – many of whom are travelling with young families – a smoother airport experience for their summer holidays.”
Agents and operators have reported a rise in demand for Greece since it relaxed its rules.
David Gregg, who runs Different Corners in Torquay, said: “We put lots of Greece deals in our window after the announcement and we have had numerous bookings. People are concerned about the queues and as a result, Greece is up and the Canaries are down.
“It’s been a great selling point for us. Corfu, Kos, Rhodes and Zante are the best performers for us as we have Exeter flights to these destinations, so it’s been a win-win.
“Booking values have ranged from £800 to £,2500 per person. Hopefully more countries will follow suit.”
Villa specialist Oliver’s Travels has also seen an increase in demand for Greece.
Product Manager Jo Grimwood said: “Following the latest travel rule changes, Greece is firmly back on the radar for British travellers, with villa holiday searches rising by 30% month-on-month.
“Regional data shows especially strong growth in the Ionian islands, Crete and Southern Aegean which include Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, Kos, Naxos, and Paros, some of UK’s favourite villa destinations, both seeing notable increases in search demand. Greece has always been a favourite with our customers, and with travel now feeling more straightforward again, we expect it to be one of the standout destinations this summer.”
Advantage Travel Partnerships CEO Julia Lo Bue-Said told Travel Gossip she welcomed Greece’s move, saying: “I really hope that it gives them a commercial advantage.” She added that members are reporting enquiries from potential customers looking to book destinations where they are less likely to have to queue for hours to get in.
Meanwhile, aviation analyst Cirium said the most popular international destinations for UK departures this coming bank holiday will be Dublin, followed by Amsterdam, Palma, Alicante and Malaga.
These were the same top five destinations over the early May bank holiday in 2025, showing continued interest in firm European favourites.
Departures from UK airports are still down 4.5% compared to the early May bank holiday weekend in 2019 when there were 12,430 departing flights.
