Pro-Brexit columnist Andrew Pierce found himself at the centre of a Brexit irony storm this weekend after venting about a nearly two-hour wait in the non-EU passport queue at Madrid-Barajas Airport.
Posting on X, Pierce said he spent 1 hour 50 minutes in line on arrival in Spain on February 15, describing the experience as chaotic and poorly managed. But critics were quick to point out that, since the UK left the EU, British travellers must now join “third-country” lanes alongside Americans and Canadians, rather than the faster EU/EEA channels they once used.
Travelers reported queues of between 90 minutes and 2½ hours that day, with disruption compounded by offline biometric kiosks, flight cancellations and early implementation issues linked to the EU’s forthcoming Entry/Exit System (EES), which will require fingerprints and facial scans for non-EU visitors. Spanish airport staffing shortages were also cited by defenders as a major factor.
The incident prompted social-media users to highlight Pierce’s previous pro-Brexit commentary. During the referendum period and its aftermath, he repeatedly argued that economic and practical warnings about leaving the EU were overstated. For example, he wrote that Britain should “stop talking Britain down” and embrace the opportunities of Brexit, while criticising what he characterised as excessively gloomy forecasts from Remain supporters.
While the delays appear to reflect a mix of operational problems and the EU’s transition to new border technology ahead of the full EES rollout in April 2026, the optics proved awkward for a prominent Brexit advocate. For critics, the scene of a pro-Leave commentator stuck in a non-EU line was less a travel hiccup – and more a political punchline.