UK holidaymakers heading to Spain this summer face a double blow: lengthy border queues from the EU's new Entry/Exit System (EES) and a surge in flight delays. New analysis from AirAdvisor shows Spanish routes are the worst-affected for UK travellers, with two major destinations seeing reliability drop dramatically year-on-year.
Palma de Mallorca and Alicante Elche Worst Hit
Overall delay rates have more than doubled at Palma de Mallorca Airport, rising from 3.66% to 7.60%. At Alicante Elche Airport, delays have nearly tripled, climbing from 4.39% to 11.73%. This means approximately one in nine departures runs at least an hour late, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin.
For those stuck in the Alicante backlog, the average wait for an already-delayed flight stands at a punishing 124 minutes. This frequently pushes arrival times beyond the crucial three-hour threshold, automatically entitling passengers to claim UK261 compensation.
Wider Disruption and Compensation Clarity
The travel disruption coincides with a sharp rise in short-haul cancellations across 18 European airports, heavily concentrated on budget routes squeezed by increasing oil prices. However, airlines hoping to use market volatility to avoid compensation payouts have just been firmly blocked. The European Commission made clear that fluctuations in fuel costs represent a normal business risk, rather than an 'extraordinary circumstance.'
Should an airline cancel or delay a flight purely because it has become too costly to run, they remain fully liable for passenger compensation.
