There’s nothing quite like a holiday to lift the spirits, but the journey can often be fraught with stress.
This week, social media has been full of videos showing tourists trapped in seemingly endless queues at Tenerife South Airport, leading to the passport control setup being branded as “awful”.
Security screening is mandatory for all passengers flying out of Tenerife Sur, which includes passing through a metal detector. Some may also be subject to a scan with a handheld device.
However, it’s the passport control that’s recently been causing significant delays. Footage reveals throngs of travellers snaking through the airport, with the line appearing to move at a majorly slow pace.
TikTok user Claire Walters, under the handle @walters101515, labelled the situation “shocking”. Scott Story, another user, shared similar sentiments in his own video post.
One traveller said: “Just came back today and half the plane was empty due to people being stuck in the queue. Absolute joke.”
Another wrote: “We were fortunate enough last Friday to get through just before our plane left. What happens if you don’t get through on time? How do you arrange another flight and do you have to pay?”
Someone else also replied: “We had this a few weeks ago. Stood in that queue for an hour-and-a-half.”
Not everyone had a similar tale to tell though, as one traveller pointed out: “This must depend on the time of your flight. I flew home yesterday and we were the only people there. Maybe 40 minutes or so before our flight boarded.”
Another added: “I fly to the UK and back once a month. This is not the norm – far from it.”
Last year holidaymakers voiced their frustrations about “chaos” at the south airport, with some of the disruption attributed to Brexit. At that time, exasperated tourism chiefs in Tenerife insisted that passport control at Tenerife Sur was “nonsense”, urging for swift measures to tackle the hour-long queues being faced by travellers.
Industry leaders conceded that this issue had been going on for several months and was affecting numerous British visitors. Despite ongoing reports, it appears to be an unresolved challenge.
Tenerife Sur has been asked to comment about the queuing problem.