Tourists heading to Lanzarote have been warned to brace for potential travel headaches as the island’s César Manrique Airport grapples with a mini-crisis.
Terminal 1 is currently facing severe challenges, marked by long queues and overcrowding, exacerbated by a shortage of National Police officers and outdated processing methods.
The situation has been described as “chaotic” by Marcos Santiago, Secretary General of the Unified Police Syndicate, who has pinpointed the core of the problem to the airport’s current handling of passenger flows.
According to Mr Santiago, both EU and non-EU travellers are funnelled into the same lines, causing significant delays and confusion.
This inefficiency is further compounded by procedural inadequacies that have not kept pace with modern travel demands.
Mr Santiago is calling for urgent updates to the airport’s infrastructure and processes to alleviate the congestion in T1 and streamline passenger processing.
While the entry controls on the island are reportedly stringent and well-managed, it is the departure process that is causing the most significant issues.
One of the most pressing concerns involves non-European Union travellers, including British tourists, who are leaving the island without receiving the necessary passport stamps.
This lack of proper documentation could lead to complications and further delays, particularly when re-entering the EU or returning home.
Mr Santiago stressed this issue highlights the need for an immediate overhaul of the airport’s exit procedures to ensure that all travellers have the correct documentation before leaving.
With the island’s popularity continuing to grow, he added that addressing these concerns is crucial for maintaining the island’s image and ensuring a positive travel experience for all visitors.
The solution, according to Mr Santiago, lies in modernising the airport’s facilities and updating the processing systems to better manage passenger flow.
This includes not only improving the physical infrastructure but also adopting more efficient methods to separate and process EU and non-EU travellers.