A hotel in Tenerife has raised concerns over complete chaos at a local airport.
Ashotel – the Hotel and Aparthotel Association of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which includes the islands of La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro – has raised concerns for a second time about the ‘severe congestion and queues’ at passport control in Tenerife South Airport.
The hotel reports that there are just two police officers managing passport checks and stamping checks, which has meant that many travellers have had to endure queues that are hours-long. They have been left waiting in terminals, with their travel further delayed by long waits at the airport’s taxi station.
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Ashotel adds that there have been increased delays since Brexit, highlighting that these ‘bottlenecks’ have got worse since the UK left the EU in January 2021. Despite the fact that there have been repeated complaints from the public and meetings held with AENA (the Spanish airport authority) along with the National Police Department, the hotel reports that there have not been any corrective measures put into place to combat the problem.
In a press release, Ashotel stated that: “This scenario is unacceptable at a top-tier destination.” They pointed out that earlier in November, only two of the four double passport control booths were operational, and were being staffed by just two officers. In addition, the 30 biometric self-service machines that the airport has installed in zones A and B are still not in use.
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In a bid to get the problem resolved, Ashotel has reportedly sent an urgent letter to Anselmo Pestana, the Government Delegate in the Canary Islands, asking for a meeting to be called with the National Police to help address the problem. The hotel added that an additional problem facing travellers at the airport is very long waits for taxis, with passengers waiting for up to an hour for a taxi.
They also criticised the existing regulations that are in place that offer ‘exclusive rights’ to taxis from Granadilla de Abona to operate at Tenerife South Airport, which means that taxis from other areas are forced to leave the airport empty after dropping a passenger off.
According to Ashotel, Tenerife South is the seventh busiest airport in AENA’s network in Spain, with the airport handling over 12.3 million passengers and 83,6000 operations in 2023. They are requesting immediate action to be taken to prevent any further damage of the island’s reputation as a premier destination for travellers.
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