The Operation Passing of the Strait (OPE) begins this Monday, June 16, with a significant novelty compared to previous editions: the implementation of the new European system for controlling entries and exits (EES, in English), which replaces the manual stamping of passports and automatically registers the fingerprints and facial images of all travelers from countries outside the Schengen area. This measure responds to the new border control regulations of the European Union and affects all boarding ports enabled for the operation.
The 2026 edition, which will last until September 15, expects to exceed 3.5 million passengers and 857,000 vehicles, which would represent an increase of 3% compared to the figures recorded in 2025, when the OPE reached a total of 3,488,885 passengers and 857,784 vehicles transported through 10,536 maritime rotations. This would be the thirty-seventh edition of an operation that constitutes the largest seasonal transit device for people between Europe and Africa.
The Government delegate in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández, requested this Sunday "maximum caution on the roads, plan the trip in advance, and follow the instructions of the authorities and official sources." Fernández stressed that "everything is prepared on the roads, at the state ports, and at the control centers of the General Directorate of Traffic to ensure that the operation is carried out with maximum guarantees of safety and efficiency."
The device mobilizes more than 31,500 professionals and involves agencies from seven ministries: State Ports and the General Directorate of Merchant Marine, the General Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health, the State Security Forces and Corps, the General Directorate of Traffic, and the Delegations and Subdelegations of the Government in the provinces where the boarding ports are located.
Andalusia concentrates five of the seven participating mainland ports—Almería, Motril, Málaga, Algeciras, and Tarifa—through which more than 96% of the vehicles and passengers of the total OPE boarded in 2025. The community also bears a considerable part of the road movements between the French border and the boarding points of the southern mainland.
However, the launch of the operation is not without tensions. The National Police have publicly reported that the reinforcement of agents agreed by the Government will be insufficient to guarantee the proper functioning of the new border controls, particularly given the increase in work that the individual biometric registration of each non-EU traveler entails. Police unions warn that wait times could be affected during peak influx moments.
The Special Plan of the OPE 2026, structured through a Specific Civil Protection Plan coordinated by the General Secretariat of Civil Protection and Emergencies, includes a Fleet Plan that establishes the number of vessels, their capacity, and the necessary rotations. Provincial coordination plans are added for each of the nine participating ports: Algeciras and Tarifa, in Cádiz; Almería, Málaga, and Motril, in Andalusia; Alicante and Valencia, in the Valencia Community; and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
The planning also considers the setting of critical dates for high influx, during which special measures such as the interchangeability of tickets may be applied to streamline boarding. Authorities recommend purchasing tickets in advance, keeping travelers informed through official sources, and planning movements to avoid crowding at port accesses.