British holidaymakers travelling to the Canary Islands have been warned to arrive at the airport three hours early due to severe border control delays caused by the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES), with some travellers reporting waits of up to two and a half hours at passport control16:03, 05 Jun 2026British tourists heading to the Canary Islands are now being advised to reach the airport three hours in advance, mainly due to serious border control hold-ups caused by the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES).‌The rollout of the new biometric border infrastructure has sparked enormous queues - occasionally stretching to three hours - at popular holiday airports such as Gran Canaria Airport and Tenerife South. Airlines and travel specialists have issued these firm warnings to stop British and non-EU passengers from missing their return flights.‌Under the EU's digital border scheme, non-EU travellers (including British passport holders) must complete facial recognition scans and fingerprinting at border control.‌Technical glitches and the considerable time needed to process each passenger have severely clogged passport control lanes.The Canary Islands accommodate vast numbers of UK passengers. When several flights depart for non-Schengen destinations simultaneously, the local infrastructure becomes rapidly overwhelmed.Spanish airport operator Aena officially requires a three-hour arrival window as standard procedure for all non-Schengen flights (which covers all flights returning to the UK).‌Airlines such as Wizz Air have firmly reinforced the three-hour recommendation. Nevertheless, passengers should be mindful of a practical obstacle: 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're at the head of the queue the moment check-in desks open, enabling you to clear security and head straight to the congested passport control gates.A travel expert based in the Canary Islands has now shared his thoughts on the 3-hour airport warning in a recent video.Mr TravelON (real name David Gainford) is a well-known travel and media content creator on TikTok, recognised for his candid, lively vlogs and live streams centred on holidays in the Canary Islands (including Lanzarote, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria).‌The influencer, who commands 192,000 followers, took to his account this week to offer his perspective on the guidance.Gainford stressed in his clip that passengers travelling with luggage may be unable to check in three hours before departure as the desk may not yet be open. However, he suggested that many airlines are looking to address this by opening earlier.He also pointed out that those who have booked a package holiday with TUI or Jet2 can count on these 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 noted that independent travellers not using a tour operator should 'probably get to the airport three hours early'. The travel expert also warned that massive queues at airports could be likely, as travellers arriving at the airports have given conflicting accounts."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 said.The video has garnered over 180 likes as Canary Island holidaymakers hunt for information.‌Numerous viewers flocked to the comments to share their own experiences, with one individual stating: "I got to Lanzarote airport 3 hours early last month and had to wait a hour for the gate to open."Meanwhile, another remarked: "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."Yet a third responded: "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."‌One commenter summarised the situation by saying: "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.Article continues belowThe guidance emerges after renowned travel publisher Fodor's has placed the Canary Islands — singling out Tenerife and Lanzarote in particular — on its 2026 "No List" back in November last year.The publication cautioned responsible travellers to reconsider visiting, citing a severe housing crisis, gridlocked traffic, and water shortages brought on by overcrowding.