Voice reading · ~2 minWelcome to the Notitur daily brief, your travel-industry recap. Today: Ryanair names the worst airports for passport control. That passport controls in Europe are a mess is nothing new, but until now almost no one dared to name names. Ryanair has done it. The Irish airline has published a ranking of the worst airports for passport control, and the result is damning for Spain.. According to Ryanair's data (you can check the full story in this article from Preferente), non-Schengen travelers are experiencing waits of over an hour on average at several Spanish airports. The list is topped by Alicante, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca, closely followed by Barcelona and Madrid. The reason, according to the airline, is that the control systems cannot cope with the surge in non-EU tourists, especially British and American visitors.. This is not just a comfort issue: it is a drag on Spain's tourism competitiveness. When a tourist arrives after a three-hour flight and faces another hour in line, the experience suffers. And Ryanair, with its typical directness, is demanding action: more border staff and automated systems to speed up the process. Meanwhile, destinations that depend on those non-Schengen passengers (UK, USA, Latin America) are losing ground to faster European hubs. Are we really going to wait until the next FITUR to react? That is today's recap. Come back tomorrow for more on travel, artificial intelligence and travel tech. See you tomorrow on Notitur.
That passport controls in Europe are a mess is nothing new, but until now almost no one dared to name names. Ryanair has done it. The Irish airline has published a ranking of the worst airports for passport control, and the result is damning for Spain.
According to Ryanair's data (you can check the full story in this article from Preferente), non-Schengen travelers are experiencing waits of over an hour on average at several Spanish airports. The list is topped by Alicante, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca, closely followed by Barcelona and Madrid. The reason, according to the airline, is that the control systems cannot cope with the surge in non-EU tourists, especially British and American visitors.
This is not just a comfort issue: it is a drag on Spain's tourism competitiveness. When a tourist arrives after a three-hour flight and faces another hour in line, the experience suffers. And Ryanair, with its typical directness, is demanding action: more border staff and automated systems to speed up the process. Meanwhile, destinations that depend on those non-Schengen passengers (UK, USA, Latin America) are losing ground to faster European hubs. Are we really going to wait until the next FITUR to react?
Quick questions
Which airports did Ryanair name as the worst?
Alicante, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca top the list, followed by Barcelona and Madrid, for the longest passport control wait times for non-Schengen travelers.
Why did Ryanair publish this list now?
To pressure authorities to improve staffing and systems, since delays hurt the airline's operations and passenger experience.
How long are the waits at those airports?
According to Ryanair, non-Schengen passengers can wait over an hour on average at the most congested Spanish airports.
What solution does Ryanair propose?
The airline asks for more border agents and the deployment of automated passport control systems to speed up passenger flows.
How does this affect tourism in Spain?
It hurts the experience of non-EU tourists (British, Americans, Latin Americans) and makes Spain less competitive than other European destinations with faster controls.
Editorial content by Notitur. It may contain errors. Verify anything important with the original source.
This article may mention third-party products, companies or services for informational purposes. Notitur does not endorse them and is not responsible for them or for what they offer. Editorial content curated by the Notitur team.
Notitur is an independent digest. It is not the official site of any brand mentioned. Content is editorial and produced with the support of AI, so it may contain errors. Verify anything important with the original source. This is not financial, legal or investment advice. Some links or blocks may be sponsored or affiliate. Trademarks belong to their owners. You can unsubscribe at any time with one click, and you can request access or deletion of your data at notitur.com/contact.
The daily brief
Notitur in your inbox
One sharp travel-industry brief a day. Free.
We use our own and third-party cookies. By continuing to browse you accept their use. More info