Airports In Spain: Expect Long Lines This Summer

Passing through the airports in Spain will be a big issue for tourists this year; the number of visitors is likely to be the same as in the past, but with numerous additional entrance restrictions and processes in place.

More holidaymakers have faced huge queues at airports in Spain due to long waits at security.

Holidaymakers using Majorca airport are warning about serious health worries amid reports that it is still taking an hour to get through security checks with “congestion and crowds everywhere”.

Although many coronavirus restrictions have been lifted in Spain, the government is still advising social distancing where possible and especially at transpot hubs.

But fed-up tourists say this is impossible at Majorca’s Palma Airport, with one passenger saying: “There was no distance between people.”

The situation is being blamed on a lack of staff and even workers are demanding action to make sure chaotic scenes of this weekend are not repeated throughout the summer.

They feel it will get worse unless action is taken with more and more tourists arriving each day.

Holidaymakers have taken to the social networks to complain about the queues and the frustration at having to wait so long to get through security.

“Even if you go in plenty of time to the airport, you can find hundreds of people waiting without being able to advance,” they say.

One Brit posted: “It’s going to be a nightmare this summer at the airports in Spain if its going to be like this!”

At various times, passengers claim, a number of airport buses or holiday coaches arrive at the same time which compounds the crowding problems.

Airport staff say there is a shortage of security officers because the contracts they are being offered are unattractive or part-time.

President of the Líneas Aéreas association, Javier Gándara has already called for more National Police officers to be drafted in to check passports, warning this could happen during the summer too.

He said: “The tourism sector is key to the Spanish economy and for recovery after pandemic, so we see the situation of congestion in airport passport controls unsustainable.

“This problem directly affects passengers but also implies an added difficulty to the already complex operation of airlines and negatively impacts the international image of Spain.

“In fact, this problem of congestion in passport controls has transcended in international media, which could discourage international travellers to come to our holiday country. We cannot afford it.”

Sun-starved Brits are jetting off to Majorca in their hundreds as the number of tourists holidaying in Magaluf has surged back to pre-Covid levels.

It’s not just Majorca Airport with the queues though, but other airports in Spain too – as many as 3,000 passengers missed their flights at Madrid Airport over the Easter break.

The long queues are also being made worse by new rules being brought in for Brits.

Since the UK left the EU, Brits now need to have their passport stamped when leaving Europe.

Source: The Sun

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