Spain launches new digital border system, causing delays at Almeria airport.
Photo Credit: Anete Lūsiņa via Unsplash
THIS month, the new Entry/Exit System took effect in airports all across Spain, including in Almeria. The new travel system, which affects non-EU travellers, including those from the UK, entering and exiting European and Schengen area countries, is a fast-track border control check system that was officially implemented in Almeria on Friday, October 17.
The new Entry/Exit System, active in Almeria
The Entry/Exit System, which consists of registering passengers’ fingerprints and digital photographs, aims to make the border control speedier and more efficient at airports. The system will eventually allow for a more updated, fast-track form of travelling, and once implemented, will allow travellers and holidaymakers to get through much quicker via a simple kiosk machine. However, UK passengers have been warned that until the system is fully up and running, travellers should account for a four-hour delay.
Travellers who passed through the Almeria airport a week prior to the official implementation of the system mentioned already seeing kiosks being set up for traveller registration. Facebook users expressed being hopeful that the kiosks will eventually be quicker than the old system, passport-stamping.
Passengers should plan for queues
Said Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership (a network of independent travel agents), “For major airports in southern Europe, we recommend that travellers now allocate four hours for navigating the new system in these initial stages.” Lo Bue-Said also mentioned that delays are to be expected, as the system gradually rolls out and the new changes are implemented. “This should settle over the next few weeks as staff and travellers familiarise themselves with the new procedures.”
The Entry/Exit System is due to be fully implemented in the whole of Spain in April of next year. An individual’s registration in the system is valid for three years, though their identity will be verified on each trip they take. Eventually, the streamlined system will eliminate the need for passport stamps, which is a mark of the increasing modernisation and digitalisation not only in the whole of Spain, but in Almeria, where efforts are already being made in its airport to offer travellers an enhanced and stress-free travel experience.
Read more news from Almeria here.