PROPERTY SEARCH
ARCHIVED - Spain urged to treat UK holidaymakers as EU tourists
Spain is being advised to allow Britons in without having to queue with other non-EU travellers
As the first proper post-Brexit summer season since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic looms, travel chaos has abounded as airports and airlines struggle to meet the renewed passenger demand. Thousands of people were left grounded in Madrid’s airport during Easter, and for weeks now, carriers such as easyJet have been cancelling flights while travellers complain of long delays to get through security.
To alleviate the latter problem, Spain is coming under pressure to follow the lead of Portugal by allowing British tourists to pass through passport controls as though they were still part of the EU. Director of the Spanish Tourist Office in London, Manuel Butler, predicts that millions of Brits will visit Spain this summer with numbers expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels, and Portuguese officials have dived ahead of the surge, already allowing UK arrivals to pass through controls like they did before Brexit.
You might also like: European Commission changes passport advice for UK travellers
“It will be the first summer season with Brexit and with normalised traveller flows,” Mr Butler explained, adding that he agrees with Portugal’s decision to allow UK passengers use the automatic eGates on arrival, which greatly speeds up the passport control process. Portugal is the first EU country to give fast access to arriving Brits.
While tourism leaders have expressed their concern at the lengthy physical controls and queues at airports for British holidaymakers, it doesn’t appear that the change will be coming anytime soon, a decision which could damage the country’s competitiveness with respect to Portugal, according to the director.
Before the Covid pandemic, around 18 million UK holidaymakers visited Spain each year, and with relaxed travel restrictions and the removal of the indoor mask-wearing rule, this number is expected to be exceeded this year. In fact, airlines have already scheduled three times as many seats from the UK to Spain than for its nearest competitor, Italy.
Image: Archive
Sign up for the Spanish News Today Editors Roundup Weekly Bulletin and get an email with all the week’s news straight to your inbox
Special offer: Subscribe now for 25% off (36.95 euros for 48 Bulletins)
OR
you can sign up to our FREE weekly roundup!
Read some of our recent bulletins:
25% Discount Special Offer subscription:
36.95€ for 48 Editor’s Weekly News Roundup bulletins!
Please CLICK THE BUTTON to subscribe.
(List price 3 months 12 Bulletins)
Read more stories from around Spain:
Contact Spanish News Today: Editorial 966 260 896 /
Office 968 018 268
