Ryanair is believed to have left 89 passengers on the Canary Island of Lanzarote due to congestion at border control. The company reportedly decided not to wait for passengers to pass through border control and took their bags off the aircraft, something that took almost an hour.

Flight FR4756, which departed at 3.15pm from Lanzarote Airport, arrived at Bristol Airport 52 minutes late. According to the Spanish outlet, La Voz, the problem originated at border control, where passengers from outside the Schengen Area must have their passports stamped. It said large queues have been forming at border control on many occasions, causing flight delays and widespread anger.

Ryanair has been asked to comment but has yet to respond.

It has yet to be revealed what happened to the travellers left behind and how long they had to wait for in Lanzarote or if they had to stay overnight.

This is not the first time that this type of incident has occurred at Lanzarote Airport. In February 2025, the simultaneous arrival of 17 non-EU flights collapsed the airport as they had to stamp their passports on arrival.

President of the Chamber of Commerce of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, José Valle, warned in August 2025 of his concern about the implementation of the new European Entry/Exit System (EES), when he predicted that it could cause “serious collapses” at Lanzarote airport.

The airport has also come under fire for long, continuous queues at the taxi and bus ranks, with people waiting up to 2 hours.

The incident has also been reported by the English ex-pat newspaper, Canarian Weekly, which claimed this situation could be motivated by Ryanair’s frustration with the increase in airport taxes by the Spanish airline authority, Aena.

It reported: “Some industry sources suggest the decision may be linked to Ryanair’s ongoing frustration with Spain over increased airport charges introduced by AENA, though the airline has not formally commented on the incident.”

*** Ensure our latest news headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings. ***

Ryanair has released a statement expressing its fury with Aena for its price hikes. It said that the increase in airport taxes was the “nail in the coffin” for regional connectivity, and that costs were “spiralling out of control”.

“The only reason Ryanair and other airlines are cutting traffic at Spain’s regional airports – which are now empty by more than 70% – is that Aena’s excessive fares are diverting that traffic to more competitive airports elsewhere in Europe. That is the economic reality of monopoly prices.”

The airline said that while it would increase its summer traffic by 11% in Morocco, 9% in Italy and 60% in Albania, it would grow by less than 0.5% at Spanish airports this summer.

“The reason why we are boosting tourism markets in other countries and not in Spain is simple: access costs in other countries are significantly more competitive, and there the growth in passenger numbers is rewarded with lower rates,” it said.

“Aena is doing just the opposite, and the Spanish regions are paying the price for this failed policy with loss of connectivity, loss of economic growth and loss of jobs.”

Ryanair said it wanted to grow in Spain, as the largest airline in the country, and welcomed the opportunity to sit down with Aena for a discussion.

“But as long as Aena’s monopoly clings to a failed policy of high prices, traffic in Spain’s regions will continue to bleed to other countries, depriving citizens of the connectivity they deserve to travel for business, visit friends and family, and access tourist opportunities from their local airports.”