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ARCHIVED - Massive queues at airport security for UK and US tourists in Spain
Passengers at Madrid airport today have missed their connecting flights due to a lack of security staff at passport control
International passengers from non-EU countries such as Britain and the USA who were departing from Madrid’s Barajas airport in Spain have faced queues of up to two hours today just to get through security and passport control.
Lines to get through the security check at Madrid airport have reached more than a hundred passengers, just days after Brits in Spain for the Jubilee bank holiday weekend were stuck at airports in Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and other tourist hotspots.
Most of those affected by long queues this morning have said that the long queues are caused by a lack of police officers at passport control in Madrid.
The Sindicato Unificado de Policía (Unified Police Union) points out that there are currently a total of 842 officers in charge of the police station at Barajas airport – a figure that is only slightly lower than in 2019, when 902 officers were stationed at the Madrid airport. They also clarify that in approximately two weeks there will be 136 new officers.
Regardless of any future plans police may have, the Association of Airlines (ALA) has claimed that 15,000 passengers have missed their flights because of this situation in the last three months in Madrid with the Spanish airline Iberia alone, not to mention all the other international airlines’ passengers who are affected by this too.
The biggest problem is for those passengers who have to catch another flight because they risk missing it.
As a solution to this problem, the ALA proposes, in addition to an increase in the number of police officers, that at times when the airport is expected to be busiest, that passengers should, on an “exceptional” basis, be allowed to pass through automatic machines that are meant for EU travellers instead of going through the manual checkpoint.
Currently, as a result of Brexit, non-EU passengers have to travel through the queue labelled “all passengers” rather than the often shorter and quicker line marked for “EU citizens,” and wait for their passport to be stamped by a person. This is due to change somewhat later this year with the introduction of the European Union Entry and Exit System (EES), which will allow third country passports to be scanned rather stamped.
Travel plans to and from Spain have also been affected by a spate of flight cancellations from British Airways and other airlines recently.
Image: Getty Images
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