# Passport Queues-Alicante



## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Hi folks

Reading many of the UK tabloids apparently due to new EU tighter passport checks there have been horrendous queues this week at European airports including Spain

Anyone pass through Alicante very recently? Just wondering how things are there

Thanks


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Can't answer your questions about Alicante, but I have been reading these stories for several weeks now about various airports, especially Palma de Mallorca.

My sister and her family returned from Palma in mid July. I asked her if they'd had any problems there and she said no, why? I recounted the tales of people fainting in hours long queues, etc. but she said everything was fine, until they got back to Manchester when there were huge queues to get through passport control because 4 flights had arrived very close together and there weren't enough staff on duty.

I flew out from Málaga in late June and the queue for security was a bit longer than normal but was kept moving quite quickly, I did notice a longish queue for passport control at one passport control section, but luckily that wasn't the case for the departure gates I was using.


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

My son flew Alicante to Manchester last Sunday with Jet2 and had no delays at all but I did notice that Jet2 seem to dominate the airport.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

It's has been on the news this morning. Excessive queues 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...our-security-queues-at-some-european-airports


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

Megsmum said:


> It's has been on the news this morning. Excessive queues
> 
> https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...our-security-queues-at-some-european-airports


I tend to take the complaints (in the story) with a pinch of salt - after all, what's more important, security or flights being on time or waiting in a queue?

It's not just Europe that has tightened controls - Australia has also done so and some major airports there have been experiencing similar delays.

Also, I recall that last year it was taking 2 hours to get through passport control at Bordeaux in the height of summer, even for flights from within Schengen and for passengers on French passports.

I really think that in these times people are going to have to change their expectations and that the days of arriving at the airport half an hour or even an hour before departure time are over. Best advice right now is to arrive at the airport early, just in case.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Also, of course, tourist numbers have continued to increase in Spain partly becauseof security issues in other countries putting people off visiting them, which must compound the delays caused by more stringent security checks.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Returned from holiday via Barcelona last Sunday and the passport queue was very short. However the security scanning staff were on a work-to-rule, because they say there aren't enough staff to do the job properly and keep passengers safe. This means they are doing everything by the book and it takes much longer. So long queues there, but I totally support their action. We had a text from the airline advising us to get there early.

As of yesterday they are on strike for three hours a day (not consecutive).


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Perhaps the British tabloids should pipe down about problems at European airports (some hope!).


Home | Daily Mail Online


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> Perhaps the British tabloids should pipe down about problems at European airports (some hope!).
> 
> 
> Home | Daily Mail Online


I won't click on these links to tabloids but I can imagine what they are saying.

Presumably they want everyone to spend their holidays at home to help the British economy, so are laying it on thick how dreadful going abroad is? Next there will be a scare about food poisoning, pickpocketing or legionaire's disease somewhere.


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> I won't click on these links to tabloids but I can imagine what they are saying.
> 
> Presumably they want everyone to spend their holidays at home to help the British economy, so are laying it on thick how dreadful going abroad is? Next there will be a scare about food poisoning, pickpocketing or legionaire's disease somewhere.


It's about British Airways' system crashing for the seventh time in a year. The story reads:



> The technical fault sparked huge delays and queue at London's two biggest airports - Heathrow and Gatwick. Issues were also reported at London City. Pictures emerged of queues up to eight rows deep (top and bottom) at the check-in desk of Gatwick Airport. Flights from the capital to destinations including, Athens, Milan, Malta, Malaga, Glasgow and Dubrovnik were all delayed by the fault. Some passengers were even stuck on planes on the runway as they waited for the issue to be resolved. While others were unable to check in online for their flights and were told they had been 'departed'.


Although there is also a story about the delays in Schengen and passengers having to wait for longer than their flight - up to 4 hours - because of what they term 'the botched introduction of tougher border checks. (Well, of course )


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> I won't click on these links to tabloids but I can imagine what they are saying.
> 
> Presumably they want everyone to spend their holidays at home to help the British economy, so are laying it on thick how dreadful going abroad is? Next there will be a scare about food poisoning, pickpocketing or legionaire's disease somewhere.


The spin they seem to put on it is that it is somehow directed at "British tourists" as if no other nationalities are affected, and it is being done on purpose by those nasty Europeans as a punishment for voting to leave the EU, just to wind the thickest and most obdurate of the Brexit voters up a bit more.

The latest report I linked to is that British Airways IT systems were down for the seventh time this year at Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports, causing horrendous queues and flight delays. I wonder if all the foreign tourists think they're doing it on purpose to annoy them.


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

I did like this from Newsthump!

Tighter border controls should not apply when I’m going on holiday, insists angry Brexiter


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## Tigerlillie (Apr 7, 2015)

Overandout said:


> I did like this from Newsthump!
> 
> Tighter border controls should not apply when I’m going on holiday, insists angry Brexiter


Haha...what a moron. 

SMDH.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Tigerlillie said:


> Haha...what a moron.
> 
> SMDH.


Of course he is he is a made up character


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## rspltd (Jul 5, 2016)

You don't seriously think this is authentic do you?? It's a spoof.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

rspltd said:


> You don't seriously think this is authentic do you?? It's a spoof.


It's a parody - such people do exist. That's what Newsthump is all about.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Lynn R said:


> The spin they seem to put on it is that it is somehow directed at "British tourists" as if no other nationalities are affected, and it is being done on purpose by those nasty Europeans as a punishment for voting to leave the EU, just to wind the thickest and most obdurate of the Brexit voters up a bit more.
> 
> The latest report I linked to is that British Airways IT systems were down for the seventh time this year at Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports, causing horrendous queues and flight delays. I wonder if all the foreign tourists think they're doing it on purpose to annoy them.


Yes the DM headline implied it was the fault of EU. and just for the British. The blip this morning didn't last long.

There are often long queues at Miami etc at certain times. We go to Antigua a lot, the BA flight, Virgin and AA all arrive within a few minutes of each other. Always a long wait especially as a lot of the paperwork is in longhand.

Daughter was happy with the systems crash in May. Got to spend two more days in UK before flying out. Company paid her flight but she pocketed the €600 compensation

The EU has said more security needs to be on duty although Barcelona staff are striking.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Isobella said:


> The EU has said more security needs to be on duty although Barcelona staff are striking.


As I mentioned earlier. The employers (Eulen) haven't recruited extra staff to meet the new regulations and are expecting them to work double shifts and only have a toilet break every four hours.


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

The biggest queue I've experienced was at Gatwick on the 21st of last month.


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## Williams2 (Sep 15, 2013)

Rabbitcat said:


> Hi folks
> 
> Reading many of the UK tabloids apparently due to new EU tighter passport checks there have been horrendous queues this week at European airports including Spain
> 
> ...


Well I'm frankly not surprised if the Leavers and their Brexiteer friends insist on using the Non-EU channel through
Passport Control.


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## bob_bob (Jan 5, 2011)

I don't believe anything the Daily Hate publish.


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## Horlics (Sep 27, 2011)

The people at Alicante are still allowing you to walk past a desk with a quick glance rather than wait for one of the machines.

At Manchester a couple of weeks ago I queued for 40 mins to use one of the 5 machines they have.


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