British tourists have been left in fear they’ll “miss their flights” at a popular airport in Spain due to the size of lengthy queues. Various videos have emerged of people waiting to board planes home from Malaga Airport, and many have admitted the wait to get through has been super long in recent weeks.
One TikTok user, known as MillandNath, said the queues were “mad” at the airport over the weekend and, as he showed people the extent of them, he admitted they were left wondering if they’d get through on time. They stopped to get food, and he admitted it left them thinking if they’d made the “wrong decision”, as the queue seemed to be so long.
In the clip, Nathan admitted it started to “move faster” at one point, but it was still really long. After explaining the situation, he said: “We’ve made it to the plane, we have 20 minutes to spare.
“We started queuing up at 10 past 12. It’s quarter to one, so we have 20 minutes to spare.” In the comments, it was reported nobody knew why the queues were so long, but people had all sorts of ideas, and it seemed to be when passport checks were being made.
While some thought it was the impact of Brexit, others said it may be down to the fact that so many Brits visit Spain. Other videos have also emerged revealing queues at the airport.
One person replied, saying: “I was part of that queue yesterday. Also took an hour to check in. Got through and was boarded straight away, nightmare.”
Another added: “Okay, I think we should be talking about how it’s not only Brexit effects. It is the outrageous number of Brits constantly visiting Malaga compared to any other nationality.”
A third replied: “I’m here now, Sunday, and the queue is about 250 people or more. I walked alongside it to see what it was for. It’s for passport checks but, luckily for me, it was for all UK passports. The EU passport side was clear.”
Meanwhile, a fourth also commented: “Came through there Saturday, and it took almost two hours in various queues to get on the plane… absolutely ridiculous.”
Someone else also chimed in with: “It’s horrendous. I went through that queue last week and nearly missed my flight.”
Other people shared different experiences though. While some suggested it’s best not to stop for food, others said that, although the queue is “stressful”, it can move pretty quickly.
Another chimed in with: “I’ve just come home yesterday from Malaga Airport, and the queue wasn’t as bad as this. I wasn’t even in the queue for 10 minutes.”
Malaga Airport can experience long queues for various reasons such as high passenger volume numbers during peak travel seasons and potential staffing issues. In the past, this has caused congestion at the airport as it’s a major gateway to Costa del Sol.
Especially during the summer and holiday periods, tourists can sometimes face lengthy queues at the airport. As well as this, if you didn’t know, non-Schengen flights require passport checks for passengers travelling to and from the UK (and other non-Schengen countries), which can also contribute to longer queues.
It’s not clear quite what led to the queues reported recently, but Malaga Airport has been asked to comment on the situation that appears to be impacting travellers.