For many holidaymakers, their stay in Tenerife is currently starting much later than planned. This is due to long queues. Travellers from the UK, in particular, are sometimes having to wait for long periods at passport control upon arrival. However, EU citizens are also reporting delays.
According to the hotel association Ashotel, there are „endless queues“ in the arrivals hall „week after week“. This is attributed both to a shortage of police officers and to technical shortcomings in the biometric screening systems.
Business owners speak of „persistent and systematic“ problems for tourists. According to them, the same scenes play out time and again: travellers wait for their passports to be checked either on biometric devices that are not connected to the network or by an insufficient number of officials. The taxi rank is also causing problems:
Waiting times on Tenerife spark criticism of Aena and the Ministry of the Interior
The airport is no minor player in the Canary Islands‘ air traffic: With 13.9 million passengers and 92,300 flight movements in 2025, Tenerife South ranks among the seven largest airports in the national network, according to Aena.
Hotel operators are accusing both the state-run airport operator Aena and the Spanish Ministry of the Interior of inaction. Whilst Aena is responsible for the infrastructure, the Ministry of the Interior is responsible for staffing and equipping the border control points.
Ashotel President Jorge Marichal has publicly asked, „What more does the tourism sector in the Canary Islands need to do to ensure that Aena and the Ministry of the Interior bring the islands‘ airports up to the same standard as those in the rest of the country?“
Even before Brexit, warnings had been issued about potential ‚chaos‘. The effects have been clearly felt since January 2021. Five years on, the situation is ‚the same or worse‘, particularly due to rising passenger numbers.
Tenerife South Airport: Only five out of 36 passport control machines in operation
The Ministry of the Interior disputes this account. It states it has „no knowledge of repeated crowds gathering“. The airport is operating „normally“, with only „occasional delays“ having occurred. Previously, the Ministry had described technical faults with the control machines installed last year as „temporary incidents“.
The technology is causing further frustration: according to travellers‘ accounts, only five of the 36 self-service biometric registration terminals installed are currently operational. This figure has not yet been officially confirmed.
Tenerife Airport and the long wait for a taxi
There are also queues outside the terminal buildings. Waiting times of up to an hour for a taxi are not uncommon; in some cases, passengers have even reported waiting more than two hours for a bus to depart.
One of the reasons for this is the current regulation, under which taxis from Granadilla de Abona are generally given priority at the airport. Whilst vehicles from other municipalities are permitted to drop off passengers, they must leave empty, whilst hundreds of arriving passengers wait for transport.
Alongside Ashotel, the business forum FAST has also spoken out. Its president, José Fernando Cabrera, describes the situation on particularly busy days as a „nightmare“. He is calling for „decisive action“ from the relevant authorities. He argues that the combination of inadequate infrastructure and malfunctioning ticket machines is causing unnecessary damage to the economy and society.
The hoteliers also draw attention to a potential sanctioning mechanism available to the Canary Islands Government. Article 75 of the Canary Islands Tourism Regulation Act provides for sanctions in the event of serious damage to the region’s image as a tourist destination. Given the sector’s economic importance – it directly accounts for 35 per cent of gross domestic product and 40 per cent of employment in the Canary Islands – inaction is difficult to understand, according to the industry.
There is a great deal at stake for the tourism industry. And anyone who frustrates their guests as soon as they arrive should not be surprised if they choose other destinations in future, warns Marichal.
No comments on this article yet.