Major Spanish airport in chaos as construction sparks huge queues
Tourists travelling to and from Majorca have been subject to significant crowding and queues at this major airport. The delays are a result of construction work which has rendered some security lanes non-operational.
Early on Sunday, August 3, Palma Airport was experiencing long queues for security and waiting times of fifteen minutes or more. At this time, 20 security lines were in operation, reports by the Majorca Daily Bulletin,
The Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea (AENA) airport authority shared that the long queues were a 'one-off incident' and that 'normal operations' soon returned. AENA manages the security check points and makes decisions as to how many are open based on passenger traffic forecasts that the airport management provides. It comes just after a warning to Brit tourists planning all-inclusive holidays to Spain.
AENA insisted that the lanes were operating correctly and that congestion on Sunday was a small blip. "Thousands of passengers pass through the airport every day, and we have not had any incidents at the security checkpoint. What happened was a one-off incident that lasted for a few minutes but was quickly sorted out,' AENA is reported as saying in the Majorca Daily Bulletin.
The airport has multiple measures in place already to reduce wait times while maintaining heightened security. These include security scanners that do not require passengers to remove liquids or computers from their bags.
Palma Airport also has an ATRS (Automated Tray Return System) for optimising the flow of security trays—though this is quite standard at all major airports.
While Sunday's incident may not have been particularly severe, more delays could be imminent in Majorca as workers from Palma Airport's main handling operator threaten to go on strike.
On the Wednesday after the delay, 150 workers from the handling operator Groundforce, gathered to demand better working conditions and threatened to strike August if their demands were unmet.
It comes as the employees council which is made up of Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), Union General de Trabajadores (UGT) and Union Sindical Obrera (USO) had raised concerns about the precarious working conditions they've endured for years. However, two meetings with company management had failed to produce any results, which led to the workers gathering at the airport on Wednesday, August 6.
Margarita Alomar, a member of the works council, told local media: "We have reached a point of collapse. We cannot allow the airport to continue with this precarious situation for another season. This is the case at Groundforce, but it is happening at all companies."
Alomar warned that if a solution is not put forward, partial stoppages or a strike are on the table. In a bid to avoid the outcome of a walkout, the works council has called for the "real intervention" of the Regional Ministry of Labour, Public Service and Social Dialogue.
Employees are open to discussing the situation with the company; however, they are not willing to continue working under the current conditions.
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