Palma de Mallorca Airport has told tourists to ‘plan ahead’ and leave extra time to get through check-in and security as demonstrations could cause ‘significant disruption’
Palma Airport has advised travellers to arrive earlier than usual for their flights(Image: Getty Images)
British holidaymakers heading to one of Spain’s most popular destinations have been warned that they could face disruption at the airport. A planned protest at Palma de Mallorca Airport is due to coincide with the first week of the school summer holidays, when many families will be jetting off for sun-soaked getaways.
The airport, also known as Son Sant Joan Airport, is the only commercial airport in Majorca, the largest of Spain’s Balearic Islands which welcomes over two million British tourists each year. But a major workers’ union has now announced plans for a protest at the airport next week on Friday, July 25, with the potential for subsequent demonstrations.
The Union General de Trabajadores (UGT), one of the largest and oldest trade unions in Spain, has confirmed that members in the aviation, tourism and transport industries plan to stage a demonstration at the airport’s arrival terminal between 8am and 12pm on the protest date. The union has warned that their plans could cause “significant disruption” if airport authorities do not meet their demands.
The Palma Airport website advises travellers: “While the demonstration planned for the July 25 is currently intended as a peaceful protest, the union has warned that escalation is likely if no progress is made. This could include more disruptive measures designed to ‘bring the airport to a standstill’.”
It adds: “Although it is not yet certain whether flights or services will be affected, passengers travelling through Palma Airport around this time should plan ahead, allow extra time for check-in and security, and monitor updates from airlines and the airport.”
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Local news outlet the Majorca Daily Bulletin echoes that the union plans to “raise the tone of the protest” and take action aimed at “paralysing” Palma Airport if their demands are not met. The group is protesting what it calls the “suffocating” situation in the aviation sector of the Balearic Islands, raising serious concerns over working conditions.
Palma Airport says that any form of industrial action this summer could have a “noticeable impact” with the record number of travellers set to pass through the airport during peak holiday season. It adds that further disruption “cannot be ruled out”, and recommends that tourists:
- Check for any official statements from Palma Airport or airlines
- Arrive earlier than usual for flights around the date of the protest
- Keep an eye on news updates regarding possible strike escalation.
The airport website adds: “The coming weeks may prove crucial in determining whether airport operations continue smoothly or if more serious disruption lies ahead.”
Meanwhile, one consumer group has called for a solution to the long queues faced by British holidaymakers at Palma Airport. Facua said that more staff are needed at border control in order to process travellers arriving from outside the European Union, with the Majorca Daily Bulletin reporting that high numbers of tourists arriving from the UK are the main cause of delays at the airport.
Concerns have been raised that the situation could worsen once the new Entry/Exit System, or EES, is introduced across EU airports this October. The EES is an IT system that will register travellers from outside the EU, including the UK, each time they cross the borders of 29 countries in the Schengen Area.
The EES will replace passport stamping by also collecting the information in each person’s passport or travel document, as well as the date and place where they entered and exited the countries using the system. No action will be required from travellers before they start their trip, as registration will be done at the external border of any of the European countries using the system.
However, operators of border services have raised concerns that EES could lead to delays for travellers when it is introduced. Industry experts have warned that it could take tourists “considerably longer” to get out of the airport once they reach their destination as they cross the border when the new system is in place.