Tenerife South Airport has already installed 24 machines at the border control for passport checks, set to be operational “soon”, as confirmed by the Delegation of the Government in the Canary Islands. This new equipment will allow passengers arriving from outside the Schengen area to self-complete, through biometric recognition, the mandatory registration of their entry into the Island and, consequently, into the country. Specifically, half of the devices are located at Gate A and another dozen at Gate B.
With the upcoming activation of this machinery, the aim is to streamline passport control at the southern airport after the service has been notably saturated since January 1, 2021. This was the day Brexit came into effect, marking the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union. It is noteworthy that British tourists represent the most important market for Tenerife, but as a result of leaving the EU, its citizens are required to undergo passport control when entering the country.
Out of Service
Crowds at the border control of Tenerife South Airport are a frequent occurrence, with no definitive solution to the issue implemented over the past four years. The Hotel and Non-Hotel Association of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Ashotel) publicly reported last November that “more than 30 biometric self-control passport machines installed throughout the perimeter of Halls A and B are not operational“. Their activation is one of the demands from authorities and business and union representatives.
While the problem made headlines in the UK tabloids, highlighting the challenges faced by its citizens arriving in Tenerife, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska asserted in Congress (on the 11th) that the delays experienced by travellers at the border control of Tenerife South Airport represent a “temporary discrepancy” attributed to “the airlines“. In the Lower House, he recalled that his ministry increased the National Police force by 32 officers assigned to these facilities last July. Furthermore, he mentioned ongoing discussions with Aena to mitigate such incidents, employing the same arguments he used in December 2024 to respond to an inquiry from Coalición Canaria MP, Cristina Valido.
Not Isolated Incidents
Queues at passport control have become more frequent over the past year. The nationalist MP informed the minister that these issues are not only occurring during peak season, which begins in a few days. June was a problematic month for this service, particularly on May 28, when over 500 people were stranded for several hours in the border control area of Tenerife South Airport due to the inability of staff to process the influx resulting from concurrent arrivals of flights from non-EU countries.
The 24 biometric recognition machines being activated at the border control of Tenerife South represent progress in addressing the issue but require further actions. To continue in this regard, a first of several periodic follow-up meetings on the evolution of the service, agreed upon by the central government, Cabildo, Aena, and the National Police last June, should be convened this month.
