Government continues to deny delays, but airlines denounce 40-minute queues to pass through security filters due to increased tourist numbers at major Spanish airports
Major airports in Spain register queues of up to 40 minutes at passport controls for travelers coming and going to countries outside the European Union, as has been the case in the United Kingdom since ‘Brexit’ came into effect. This is how the airlines are denouncing and assuring that they have suffered from these problems since March, when tourism started to accelerate after the pandemic, but now the situation is one of collapse.
The interior ministry denies the majority and assures that Barajas airport – where there are more incidents according to the airlines – is showing normal activity at its border posts. Still, government deputy in Madrid, Mercedes González, announced on Tuesday that nearly 200 National Police officers will arrive on June 20 to work in Madrid’s airport security checkpoint. And on the Internal Affairs line, he said he was “very” surprised by the complaints of Iberia – to which the Madrid City Council has also joined – which counted more than 15,000 passengers this Monday who had only made their air connection in Barajas since March. had lost 1 as a result of these collapses.
“It is true that some checks have to be carried out, but we have no evidence of delays,” the government deputy told media after an act in Valdemoro (Madrid). He also acknowledged that there was “a problem and a negotiation rescued by headquarters last summer and there has been no problem since”.
From the interior, they assure that the controls in Madrid in June will have a total of 601 troops, for a forecast of 18.7 million passengers during the month, while in 2019 with a transit of 19.2 million tourists, the airport had 425 police officers. The Home Office statement obviously does not take into account the fact that in 2019 British citizens, the first country to send tourists to Spain, continued to belong to the Schengen area within the EU.
“There are no queues or delays outside specific situations due to the coincidence of several flights from outside the Schengen area,” said the Interior, who also emphasizes that the police have “not registered a single complaint” for missed flights, “which is in contrast with certain confirmations”.
Asked at the press conference after the Council of Ministers, government spokesman Isabel Rodríguez explained that they are “specific issues” and emphasized that 200 police officers will join Barajas passport checks during the summer months, up to 600 officers.
Source: La Verdad
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