Brits visiting Canary Islands told 'truth' about getting to airport 3 hours early

British tourists heading to the Canary Islands are currently being advised to arrive at the airport three hours before departure, principally due to severe border control delays caused by the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES).

The rollout of the new biometric border infrastructure has triggered enormous queues — sometimes stretching up to three hours — at major holiday hotspots such as Gran Canaria Airport and Tenerife South. Airlines and travel specialists have issued these stern warnings to prevent British and non-EU passengers from missing their flights home.

Under the EU's digital border system, non-EU travellers (including British passport holders) are required to undergo facial recognition scans and fingerprinting at border control.

Technical glitches and the considerable time needed to process each passenger have placed significant strain on passport control lanes.

The Canary Islands welcome vast numbers of UK visitors. When several flights depart simultaneously for non-Schengen destinations, the local infrastructure quickly becomes overwhelmed.

Spanish airport operator Aena officially stipulates a three-hour arrival window as standard procedure for all non-Schengen flights — which encompasses all flights returning to the UK.

Carriers such as Wizz Air have strongly reinforced the three-hour recommendation. However, passengers should be mindful of a practical complication: many baggage drop and check-in desks at Canary Island airports do not open until precisely two hours before departure. Airlines continue to recommend arriving early to ensure you are at the front of the queue the moment check-in desks open, enabling you to clear security and head straight to the often-congested passport control gates.

A travel expert based in the Canary Islands has now shared his thoughts on the three-hour airport warning in a newly released video.

Mr TravelON (real name David Gainford) is a well-known travel and media content creator on TikTok, celebrated for his candid, high-energy vlogs and live streams centred on holidays in the Canary Islands, including destinations such as Lanzarote, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria.

The influencer, who commands an impressive 192,000 followers, took to his account this week to offer his perspective on the guidance.

Gainford pointed out in his clip that passengers travelling with luggage may not be able to check in three hours before departure, as the desks are unlikely to be open. He did, however, suggest that many airlines are looking to address this by opening earlier.

He also noted that those who have booked a package holiday with TUI or Jet2 can trust those companies to ensure they reach the airport on time.

"It's their responsibility to get you from your hotel and accommodation to the airport on time," he said.

"So sit back, chill out, relax, and let your rep tell you what time you're getting picked up.

"Yes, it might be an hour earlier."

He advised that independent travellers not using a tour operator should 'probably get to the airport three hours early'. The travel expert also warned that lengthy queues at airports remain a distinct possibility, with reports from arriving passengers proving decidedly mixed.

"Some are reporting two or two-and-a-half hour's wait, it really does depend on how may flights land at that time," he commented.

The clip has racked up more than 180 likes as Canary Island holidaymakers seek out information.

Numerous viewers flocked to the comments section to share their own experiences, with one writing: "I got to Lanzarote airport 3 hours early last month and had to wait a hour for the gate to open."

While another added: "Arrived in Lanzarote last month no issues on arrival but leaving to fly back to the UK was awful, we arrived early just in case, went to gate 6 done what we needed to once our gate number came up we headed over, that was where the issues began, you had to go through the machines again and there was only three machines."

However, a third chimed in: "We landed in Lanzarote last night and we were lucky, 10 minutes from getting off the plane to arriving at the bus stop. EES was ok, no queue and the luggage was waiting for us as we came through."

A fourth traveller neatly summarised the situation, stating: "Better to be safe than sorry, it's a nightmare at certain times."

When contacted, a representative of the Ministry of the Interior commented: "The Entry Exit (EES) border control system has been fully operational in Spain since April 10th and is being implemented as initially planned, with positive results to date, and no significant incidents have occurred."

The Cuerpo General Policía Canaria (CGPC) has also been contacted for comment.

The guidance emerges after enowned travel publisher Fodor's placed the Canary Islands — specifically singling out Tenerife and Lanzarote — on its 2026 "No List" back in November last year.

The publication cautioned conscientious travellers to reconsider visiting, citing severe housing crises, traffic congestion, and water shortages brought about by overcrowding.