Palma Airport security wait times revealed as 98% pass in 10 minutes

You’ve arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. You’ve even grabbed a coffee on the way in, feeling smug that you’re going to have a stress-free journey.

Then you see it.

The security queue appears to snake endlessly through the terminal, and suddenly that leisurely coffee feels like a very bad decision. You start sweating, checking the departures board repeatedly and wondering whether you are going to make it to the gate.

Well, apparently, this is not the case at Palma Airport.

New figures from airport operator Aena reveal that 98 per cent of passengers at Palma Airport pass through security in less than ten minutes, while an impressive 85 per cent are through in under five minutes.

Palma beats its target

The figures mean Palma is performing three percentage points better than the official quality target set under Spain’s Airport Regulation Document, known as DORA.

The target requires at least 95 per cent of passengers to spend less than ten minutes getting through security.

That does not mean every traveller is guaranteed a ten-minute wait, however. Longer queues can still occur, particularly when several busy flights depart around the same time. Instead, the measure requires the airport to ensure that at least 95 per cent of passengers remain below the threshold.

For Mallorca’s millions of visitors, though, the figures suggest that security is not currently the airport headache many travellers might expect.

Passport control is another story

There is an important distinction between security screening and passport control, particularly for passengers arriving from outside the European Union.

Palma is adapting to the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES), which is progressively replacing traditional passport stamps with digital records and biometric information, including facial images and fingerprints.

Aena has issued a tender for additional support at passport control, with staff expected to help passengers navigate the new system and deal with any problems at the border.

So, while that nightmare security queue may not be materialising at Palma, travellers should still allow plenty of time for the airport journey.

But for anyone who has ever sprinted through an airport clutching their boarding pass and praying the gate has not closed, the latest security figures make reassuring reading.