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Tourists travelling to Spain are being warned that they may face delays at some of the country's airports as new security measures are introduced.

Passengers will soon be required to provide detailed personal information before boarding their flights under the Advance Passenger Information (API) scheme.

Although many airlines will be able to obtain this information before passengers arrive at the airport, some do not have the capability to do this and travellers will have to fill out forms just before boarding.

A similar scheme was introduced in the US in 2004 and led to delays around the world, with many airlines predicting similar problems with the Spanish system.

The API scheme is due to be introduced on 13 June and although some tourism officials have expressed concern at the short amount of time airlines and travel agents have been given to prepare, the Spanish Tourist Office (STO) is confident that passengers will not be adversely affected.

'We have established a lead-in period so the industry can adopt solutions to ensure the requirements do not affect travel,' Ignacio Vasallo, director of the STO, told the Metro.

Travellers planning to visit Spain will need to provide their passport number, full name, gender, date of birth and their nationality.

API is set to become commonplace when travelling to European countries in the near future after officials agreed to introduce a pan-European scheme.

However this is not due to come into force until 2008.

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