Tim ZylaExtended wait times in the immigration line at Latin American airports is not a new phenomenon, but this year several high-profile political players are blowing the whistle in hopes of finding a solution.
Colombia has seen record numbers of international travelers entering its borders over the past 18 months, a positive happening that has been marred in some aspects by the lengthy wait times entering the country.
Beginning in May, a labor dispute between immigration workers and the national government led to talk about the implementation of “Operación Tortuga.”
The aptly named plan consisted of government workers vowing to protest by following all formal procedures, which would drastically increase wait times. The government attempted to stave off the operation by coming to an agreement with the workers, who were upset that despite record numbers of visitors the government was stalling on hiring an additional 500 workers to relieve the pressure. However, it’s disputed as to whether or not the operation is still in effect. The national government says no. Wait times at airports suggest otherwise.
Just two months later, Medellín Mayor Federico Gutiérrez announced he had sent multiple formal communications to the national government urging them to increase staffing and operational capacity at José María Córdova International Airport in nearby Rionegro.
Finance Colombia reported that an immigration official who was not authorized to comment to the media said the Gustavo Petro administration was refusing to commit to making additional hires.
Data on average wait times across Latin America is often scant, with measurements sometimes appearing in one-off regulator or ministry reports rather than in regional datasets.
Lima’s new Jorge Chávez International Airport shows estimated wait times of about an hour — six times greater than the IATA design standard.
Lonnie McRorey, co-founder and chief executive officer of TeamStation AI, a nearshore staffing solution, said it’s not uncommon for the company’s engineers to hit snags at airports across Latin America.
“Crowds are back to full strength, but staffing never recovered,” he said. “You walk into an inspection hall built for 20 officers and you will see four on duty and two of them juggling secondary checks. (We) see this every month in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Bogotá, Lima and São Paulo.”
Political pressure from the United States has added to wait times across Mexico, McRorey said, as immigration officers are forced to perform stricter document checks for those looking to enter the United States.
“More tasks and fewer people create friction,” he said. “The volume is climbing. The infrastructure is behind.”
Recently, former Colombian Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez joined the fold speaking out against aging infrastructure and told officials from the immigration authority and ministry of foreign affairs that it was necessary to fix the “inefficiency, illegality and discrimination in the immigration processes” at airports.
She noted that the airport had already been the subject of two recent staffing increases, which still had yet to fix the issues.
Brazil has also battled its fair share of inefficiency of customs operations — issues that only appear to be getting worse.
Last year, the country’s Federal Revenue Service said that “demand has outpaced capacity in multiple airports” and that efforts to modernize will take time to implement.
Former Airports Council International Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said many airports across the globe are experiencing similar issues, which has exposed “chronic underinvestment in airport processing capacity in emerging markets.”
His recommended solution mirrored one of Ramírez’s tops recommendations in her letter to the Colombian national government — more technology use for border security.
Colombia is already using a biometric system for its own citizens to reenter the country, but it cannot be used for international travelers. Online commenters who recently traveled abroad have reported immigration wait times as long as four hours in Colombia, with some airports being considered quicker than others. Cartagena, considered by many to be the tourist capital of Colombia, is often referenced alongside Bogotá and Medellín as being undesirable for ease of entry.
In the nearshoring world, the potential delays faced waiting in line represent lost money for companies looking to do business in Latin American countries. Some industry analysts have suggested multinational companies are evaluating ease of travel for executives when considering new markets to enter.
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