Malaga Airport tests new EES control of non-EU passengers
This system, involving facial registration and fingerprint checks, has been running for one hour a day since 20 October
The new border control system for passengers from outside the EU has been running for one hour a day at Malaga Airport since 20 October. The test phase of the entry-exit system (EES) has been going smoothly, as the government office in Malaga told SUR.
“Its implementation over the last few days has been without incident. We are in a test phase. There are 180 days for its total application, which is due on 10 April 2026,” said sources.
The EES is a new automated computerised procedure, involving facial registration and fingerprint checks. This new digital register eliminates the need for passport control at the police kiosks for passengers entering or leaving EU territories.
The most affected passengers are the British, as they are the leading market at Malaga Airport, with more than 2.83 million arrivals last year and a total of 5.7 million journeys, including departures. For this reason, this new system has generated concern in the tourist sector and its implementation has been carefully monitored so that it causes minimal inconvenience to passengers.
European border control in Spain, whether at ports, airports or land borders, is the responsibility of the National Police. In the new system, border crossing points are equipped with computerised systems that scan passport data, take the passenger's photo and record their fingerprints and the date and place of entry or exit. In case someone is refused entry by the national authorities, the system also records this information. To implement the system at all Spanish border posts, the Ministry of the Interior has invested 83 million euros.
23%
of passengers arriving at Malaga Airport are British nationals, who will soon have to go through the new control system
The Ministry of the Interior has stated that the EES will be introduced in phases, over six months, which means that passengers' "biometric data (facial image and fingerprints) may not be collected immediately at all points and their personal information may not yet be registered in the system". During the testing period, the EES will coexist with the traditional manual stamping of passports.
However, the latter will fully disappear in April 2026, as it is considered "time-consuming" and not reliable enough. In addition, the lengthy procedure that has been in place until now "does not allow the systematic detection of persons who have exceeded the maximum duration of their authorised stay".
For EU officials, the system "provides reliable data in real time, which helps national authorities identify persons who pose a threat to security, as well as detect cases of document and identity fraud. It also helps detect irregular migration by identifying people who overstay their visas or those who try to access any EU country illegally".
