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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Christopher Harper & Gemma Jones

Spain travel warning over passport chaos ahead of Easter and summer holidays

Brits heading to Spain on holiday have been warned about getting caught up in major chaos at the airport.

It comes as travel officials in Spain have called for action after major queues formed at airports this weekend. More than 1,000 passengers were affected at the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport when large queues formed at Terminal 1 and Terminal 4.

Majorca Daily Bulletin reported that the president of ALA, the Spanish association of airlines, Javier Gándara, said that the situation was “completely unacceptable”. Mr Gándara went on to demand that the Ministry for Interior to take action so that the “necessary resources are available in all Spanish airports to handle the influx of tourists”, at the beginning of the summer season.

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Spain is set to see a major influx of UK tourists in the coming months. Between July and September 2022, more than 13 million UK passengers travelled to Spain, reported Birmingham Live. Mr Gándara claimed “there are not enough members of the National Police” and explained that tourists on intercontinental flights are finding it difficult to catch their stopovers on time due to the long queues at checkpoints.

Gándara warned that “not long from now” the large influx of British passengers will begin, so he said that “by then it will not only be a possible problem for Barajas, but also for other tourist airports such as the Balearic and Canary Islands, Alicante and Malaga”.

He said: “We are asking for the necessary resources to be put in place to be able to meet demand."

He stressed that in the case of Spain more than 80% of international visitors travel to the country by air. He said: “It is the first perception that tourists who visit us have and that the image is of endless queues or missed connections and this is the last thing we need."

Airport operator AENA told Majorca Daily Bulletin that the border force is not its responsible and it is up to the Ministry for Interior to resolve the problem of a lack of National Police officers and key times.

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