A combination of increased passenger traffic, understaffing and a technical glitch led to major delays at Madrid’s Barajas Airport on Wednesday, resulting in hundreds of international travellers missing their flights due to severe bottlenecks at passport control.
Numerous travellers affected by the disruption already had their luggage loaded onto departing aircraft.
The disruption – caused by both an apparent shortage of police officers at passport control and a computer malfunction – has sparked tensions between Spain’s Transport and Interior Ministries, each pointing fingers at the other.
Travellers at Terminal 4 experienced a chaotic day, with queues stretching for hours and many unable to make their connecting international flights.
The backlog at passport control, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry and national police, worsened between 11am and 2pm, when multiple international flights landed in quick succession.
According to El País, sources within the Interior Ministry insisted that all 16 passport booths were manned by two officers each, as per protocol. However, other accounts suggested that only half the booths were staffed when the passenger surge began, quickly resulting in extensive queues.
Adding to the problem was a computer system failure that hampered border processing and significantly slowed operations.
‘This is a temporary situation caused by the accumulation of flights in a very short period of time and coinciding with a specific computer problem, now resolved, in accessing the applications used by the national police,’ said sources from the Ministry.
To manage the crowd and minimise potential safety risks, staff from Aena, the state-run airport operator, began limiting access to the shuttle train linking Terminal 4 with its satellite terminal, T4S. Aena clarified that passengers travelling to domestic or European Union destinations were not affected by the issue.
The disruption also impacted baggage control operations, creating further setbacks for international passengers.
In the aftermath, a blame game erupted between the two ministries. The Transport Ministry sought to deflect responsibility, countering the narrative with its own version of events and attributing the situation to the Interior Ministry and national police.
‘The incident has nothing to do with this Ministry or with Aena. There is no chaos in the management of the airport,’ a statement read. ‘The situation that has arisen is solely and exclusively due to a problem of a police nature in the management of the arrival of passengers with passport control, which is the responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior.’
Meanwhile, police unions defended the officers involved. ‘It is impossible to control 20 flights with 500 passengers per flight in the space of an hour. It is physically impossible, you cannot sell [these tickets] as some of the companies operating with Aena are doing in this case,’ a union spokesperson said, indirectly criticising airline overbooking practices.
Carlos Quero, spokesperson for the Federal Police Union (UFP), said that the turmoil wasn’t caused by insufficient staffing but by the scheduling of numerous flights within a narrow window on a peak summer travel day.
The Spanish Police Confederation (CEP) posted images of the long lines on social media, commending the officers for doing a ‘great job’ under difficult circumstances. The post also stressed the urgent need for increased police presence at the airport.
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✈️El aeropuerto de Barajas, desbordado completamente de viajeros en los mostradores de facturación, en los controles de pasajeros y en los andenes de la línea de tren que conecta con la terminal satélite.
📌La noticia: https://t.co/ZmRX7E7cqk
Síguelo en #TN1 📡 DIRECTO:… pic.twitter.com/Wxr35AH4hr— Telemadrid (@telemadrid) July 2, 2025
✈️ Lo que pasa en #Barajas es la mezcla perfecta para que las colas vuelvan en verano como la lotería en Navidad: número insuficiente de policías (por mucho que ahora se incorporen más) y mala planificación y coordinación (del puesto fronterizo y AENA). Denuncia @cep_cepolicia 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/pKiARtKIJJ
— CEP (@cep_cepolicia) July 2, 2025
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