Brits travelling to Lanzarote airport are likely to endure an ‘uncomfortable and chaotic experience’.
Oswaldo Betancort, the president of the island, made the comment amid calls for urgent action at the travel hub.
Following numerous complaints in recent years, Mr Betancort is now calling for a meeting with the Spanish airport authority, AENA.
According to the politician, among the issues at César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport, there are not enough police on duty when compared to the number of passengers – a situation he described as ‘unacceptable’.
‘It is unacceptable that residents and visitors have to endure long waits due to insufficient staff at security checkpoints,’ Mr Betancort said.
‘More human and material resources are needed to guarantee efficient operation.’
Some 800,000 travellers passed through the airport in March this year, making it the country’s tenth busiest in terms of passenger volume (and the third busiest in the Canary Islands).
The complaints received by the airport in recent years include how long it takes to traverse the hub, with passengers noting that there are long waits for both baggage collection and at passport controls.
Travellers are photographed while waiting inside Lanzarote airport. Some 800,000 passengers moved through the hub in March alone this year
This can take people around an hour – after which, they then have to queue up and wait for a significant amount of time for a taxi, with queues reportedly filling the concourse.
According to the Mirror, one holidaymaker described being ‘shocked’ at how long they had to wait for a taxi.
After spending around an hour collecting their luggage and getting through passport control, they said they had been looking forward to getting to the hotel – before being confronted by a ‘really massive’ queue for cabs.
The holiday maker described this queue as ‘literally snaking around the concourse’, adding that there must have been around 300 people waiting for a car.
‘It took us 55 minutes in total to get a taxi, which did nothing for our mood or Lanzarote’s reputation,’ they added.
‘When we asked a taxi driver what the problem was, he said there were not enough taxis to cope with the number of arrivals. The time, we must point out, was 7.30pm, so probably not even the busiest time of the day.’
Because of the huge waiting times passengers face when it comes to baggage collection and passport control, there are plans to expand the airport
And it’s not just people holidaying in the area who have raised issues: locals also feel there is ‘significant mismatch’ between the demand for amenities like taxis and the supply.
According to the authorities, the solution is to create a digitalised service, and talks are being co-ordinated with the taxi association in order to proceed.
There are reportedly plans to expand César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport, in an effort to improve both the standard of service and efficiency of operations.
The aim is to expand and remodel Terminal 1, according to the Airport’s Master Plan, as well as expanding check-in, boarding and security control areas.
In addition, connecting terminals 1 and 2 in the boarding area, past security control, is also in the plan.
