Brits are warned to expect “significant and major chaos” at Spanish airports, which “still are not prepared for an “explosion” in arrivals this summer due to “staff shortages”.
- Brits traveling to Spain should brace themselves for “considerable chaos” this summer
- Special warnings for airports in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Malaga and Mallorca
- Expected delays are due to an “explosion” in demand from returning Britons
- Staff shortages, flight cancellations and airline strikes to blame
Britons traveling to six Spanish airports are being warned to brace for further “significant chaos” this summer.
The tourism alliance Exceltur has issued special warnings to the airports in the south and north of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Malaga and Mallorca.
The organization says there will be “significant and major chaos” as these airports are particularly popular with Britons.
And Exceltur says it is “urgent” to improve the provision of border controls to try to improve the situation.
Exceltur vice-president José Luis Zoreda said the chaos was being caused by the “huge explosion” in demand and would be particularly bad at airports, which see the largest number of British tourist arrivals. This includes all airports in the Canary Islands.
At Madrid-Barajas Airport, the shortage of staff at passport controls must be addressed “urgently”, Mr Zoreda added.
The tourism alliance Exceltur has issued special warnings to the airports in the south and north of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Malaga and Mallorca. Pictured: Queues in Stansted today
Exceltur vice-president José Luis Zoreda said the chaos was being caused by the “huge explosion” in demand and would be particularly bad at airports, which see the largest number of British tourist arrivals
Exceltur says Spain’s airport authority AENA is not to blame for the problems, praising the “great professionalism” shown so far given the significant number of tourists arriving in Spain each year.
Mr Zoreda said staff shortages were to blame, coupled with the impact of strikes and flight cancellations at Ryanair and easyJet.
He has called on the Interior Ministry to ensure that all the necessary police resources are in place at the main tourist airports and in Madrid-Barajas to facilitate passport control.
“These cause notable dissuasive problems and inconveniences for tourists wishing to fly to Spain,” he said. “The Ministry of the Interior must provide the necessary funds so that Spanish airports continue to emerge as the best gateways for tourists to enter and exit our country.”
A passenger at Heathrow Airport takes time off for a nap on Tuesday amid more queues and delays
Long queues at Manchester Airport this morning as the aviation crisis continues to wreak havoc across the UK
Queues were already forming at Birmingham and Stansted airports this morning. In the picture, people are sleeping on the floor of Stansted Airport
Meanwhile, British tourists back home in the UK are grappling with endless problems and “total chaos” as airlines cancel flights and airports lose luggage.
BA canceled 17,600 flights, equivalent to 2.8 million seats, by the end of June and told chiefs at Gatwick and Heathrow that more than 650 flights to more than 70 destinations including Malaga, Ibiza, Palma, Faro and Athens will be cancelled to try to avoid more chaos at the terminals.
Almost 1,000 other flights have been canceled so far this month alone, including 785 from Heathrow and 186 from Gatwick.
The airline said it is facing “the most challenging time in its history” and “regrettably” has had to further cut its flight schedule.
And Peter Bellew, EasyJet’s chief operating officer, resigned on Monday amid mounting pressure on the airline to reduce flight disruption.
His resignation came the same day a passenger waiting at Manchester Airport tweeted a photo of a queue to enter Terminal 3 that stretched into the multi-storey car park.
And this morning, Jet2 Executive Chairman Philip Meeson slammed the “inexcusable” airport chaos as the group reported losses of £323.9million for the year ended March 31.
