At César Manrique Airport on Lanzarote, what appeared to be a normal day at the airport took a surprising turn: although their luggage had already been stowed in the hold, 89 holidaymakers missed their return flight with Ryanair.
The travellers were due to fly back to Bristol in the UK shortly. However, they were still in the overcrowded security checkpoint for passengers from non-Schengen countries and had no chance of reaching the gate in time.
The airline deemed the delays at passport control to be so serious that ground staff were eventually forced to remove the luggage from the aircraft again. The aircraft then took off shortly afterwards without the 89 passengers still waiting.
Ryanair leaves waiting passengers behind in Lanzarote
The aircraft is therefore only about half full. It arrives in Bristol 52 minutes late. It remains unclear for the time being how long the stranded travellers will have to wait in Lanzarote.
Scenes like these are not an isolated occurrence in Tenerife either. There are repeated instances of long waiting times there due to a shortage of passport control machines and a lack of staff. According to the British newspaper *The Sun*, the situation is not an isolated occurrence in Lanzarote either. As early as last year, the simultaneous arrival of 17 non-EU flights led to chaotic scenes, as every single passport had to be stamped. The queues reportedly remained for hours without shortening.
In the Canary Islands, an increasing number of local business representatives are warning of reputational problems. Tourism in the Canary Islands is repeatedly faced with breakdowns at security checkpoints at the major airports.
The so-called Entry-Exit System is designed to digitally record biometric data such as facial images and fingerprints. The previous manual passport stamping process is no longer required. However, in the event of system failures, operations must revert to manual procedures at short notice, usually with insufficient staff. This has happened repeatedly recently on Tenerife.
Check-in procedures overwhelmed, not just on Canary Islands flights
Even away from airports, it is clear how quickly time can become a risk: off the coast of Madeira, a German cruise ship cut short its stay due to strong winds. Although the crew tried several times to contact all the passengers, two people were left behind on land. According to the cruise line, Aida Cruises, it arranged for the passengers to continue their journey.
Whilst Europe is seeking to set new standards with modern border technology, the scenes currently unfolding at airports in the Canary Islands show that, in practice, the systems do not yet operate smoothly and reliably.
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