Brits' 'inhuman' experience at spanish airport sparks emergency meeting

NEARLY 500 UK HOLIDAYMAKERS WERE LEFT WAITING ON THE TARMAC FOR UP TO 45 MINUTES BEFORE DISEMBARKING THE PLANE IN TENERIFE 04:53, 30 May 2025 Top Spanish officials have convened an emergency

summit following a debacle at Tenerife South Airport, where British holidaymakers faced two-hour waits and "inhuman" conditions amidst the start of school holidays, all before

clearing passport control. On Monday, May 26, approximately 500 British tourists experienced lengthy delays on the tarmac at Tenerife South Airport, enduring up to 45 minutes before

disembarking into chaotic scenes with out-of-service escalators and extensive queues snaking in and out of the building for passport verification. At the scene, it was reported that only

four officers were tending to just two operational passport booths, causing passengers to be squeezed into an environment labelled as "claustrophobic" and "third world".

Local inhabitant Lourdes Tourecillas, who had been travelling back from Bristol, relayed her experience to Canarian Weekly by commenting, "Some parents lifted their children onto their

shoulders to stop them from suffocating," and mentioned that there were no accessible toilets, leading to visible distress amongst the crowd. READ MORE: Thousands of Brits with holiday

homes in Spain could be impacted by tax hike for non-residentsREAD MORE: 'I visited a beautiful town 90 minutes from Manchester with mountain views and lake tours' Rosa Dávila,

President of the governing council of Tenerife, has responded to the incident with an emergency session. The issue of congestion and extensive queueing, particularly during high tourism

seasons, is not a new phenomenon at this bustling airport. Article continues below Dávila condemned the circumstances as "unacceptable", attributing the failure to provide

adequate border staff since the UK's departure from the European Union as the root cause of these recurring issues. She argued: "This is a structural issue. We can't continue

to operate with the same staffing levels we had pre-Brexit." A key problem for travellers on Monday was the airport's failure of its automated check-in system to process

children's passports, leaving families to endure hours of queuing with children and luggage in hot, long lines at the start of their vacations. The council's President has

expressed her frustration by mentioning that she had contacted mainland politicians but to no avail. "There's a serious lack of respect towards Tenerife. We're managing

essential services locally, but without state support, we're being left to fail," she disclosed. Lope Afonso, Tenerife's Tourism Minister, expressed concerns. "This is

the first impression our visitors get. After hours on a plane, they're met with long waits and no explanation. It's not acceptable, and it's hurting our brand as a quality

tourist destination," he stated. Article continues below "Tenerife competes globally. Other countries have adapted their systems since Brexit. Why haven't we?" he

questioned, indicatin the urgency for change. He also cautioned summer holidaymakers about potential repeats of these issues if urgent measures aren't taken by mainland government,

urging: "We need immediate solutions to avoid this happening again, especially with the busy summer season ahead."