Biometric Breakdown Sparks Airport Chaos
Holidaymakers returning to the UK from Tenerife faced severe disruption and lengthy queues after a systemic failure of the airport's biometric passport control gates. The situation escalated when one female passenger had her arm trapped by the malfunctioning glass gates, requiring assistance from a lone staff member.
Systemic Failures and Passenger Fury
The chaos unfolded on November 9, 2025, at Tenerife South Airport, the island's busiest travel hub. A row of machines designed to read passports electronically were described as 'useless' by frustrated Britons, with many either completely non-functional or repeatedly rejecting valid travel documents.
The incident reached a critical point when the automated glass gates closed prematurely on a woman, pinning her arm. She had to be freed by a single employee who was simultaneously attempting to manage hundreds of disgruntled tourists caught in the ensuing backlog.
Airlines Issue Warnings as Delays Worsen
The problems were compounded by a lack of staff at manual passport control counters. Airlines, including Ryanair, had proactively emailed travellers, advising them to arrive at the airport early and forego shopping due to anticipated long waits.
One Ryanair passenger confirmed the severity of the situation, stating: 'Ryanair was right. The lone member of passport checkers only got into their booth an hour before our flight, by which time the queue must have had 150 people in it.'
This disruption comes as Tenerife airport begins phasing in the new EU Entry/Exit System (EES). This system, which requires first-time users to submit photographs and fingerprints, is expected to cause further teething problems and delays. The British Embassy has acknowledged that these issues will affect all Spanish airports, with Madrid already experiencing queues exceeding an hour.
The woman who was trapped expressed the collective frustration, labelling the event 'an absolute farce' and urging the airport to 'get its act together'. Despite recent pledges from Tenerife's island government to improve services at the south airport, travellers report that the promised improvements have yet to materialise, leaving the situation totally unacceptable for a major tourist destination.
