Canary Island holidaymakers warned they face 'unacceptable' chaos on arrival at airport
When you land at your destination on holiday, the aim is getting through customs and collecting your bags as swiftly as you can so your break can finally begin. But tourists landing at one Canary Island airport have been warned they face an 'uncomfortable and chaotic' experience.
Passengers to Lanzarote Airport, the third busiest airport on the Canaries by volume of passengers, has been marred by slow baggage collection, lengthy taxi queues and insufficient police on duty. The island's president has now demanded action.
President Oswaldo Betancort has asked for an urgent meeting with the Spanish airport authority, AENA, to address the issues causing lengthy delays at César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport.
Betancort said there are insufficient police on duty at the airport, which is the tenth busiest in the country by volume of passengers with nearly 800,000 in March alone.
The airport has been the subject of numerous complaints in recent years, both for the time it takes to get luggage and then to go through passport controls.
Tourists say this takes about an hour and is followed by another lengthy wait for a taxi. Queues often snake around the concourse as passengers with their suitcases wait for more taxis to arrive, reports the Mirror.
One holidaymaker recently back in the UK after a break in Lanzarote said: "We were very shocked at the taxi situation at the airport. It took us about an hour to get through passports and to collect our luggage, so we were looking forward to getting to our hotel.
"However, we were shocked to find a really massive queue at the taxi rank which literally snaked around the concourse. We had absolutely no choice but to join that queue, which must have been at least 300 people.
"It took us 55 minutes in total to get a taxi, which did nothing for our mood or Lanzarote's reputation!
"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."
Local residents agree there is a "significant mismatch" between supply and demand and that something needs to be done. The authorities say creating a digitalised service is the way ahead, which is why it is opening a round of talks with the taxi association.
Of the lack of police officers at the airport, Mr Betancort said:" It is unacceptable that residents and visitors have to endure long waits due to insufficient staff at security checkpoints. More human and material resources are needed to guarantee efficient operation."
There are currently plans to expand the airport, to improve operational efficiency and quality of service. According to the Airport's Master Plan, the objective is to expand and remodel Terminal 1 to improve quality, also expanding the check-in, boarding and security control areas.
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Likewise, terminals 1 and 2 will also be connected in the boarding area, once the security control has been passed. The Mirror's Victoria Chessum recently traveled through Lanzarote Airport and experienced some of the chaos.
"She wrote: "I visited Lanzarote out of peak-season, and therefore ignorantly expected the airport to at least be manageable in terms of queues. While checking-in was super easy, along with bag-drop, navigating the small and disproportionate terminal building was not.
"Armed with a sleepy toddler, a pram, and a few hand luggage bags, the whole experience quickly escalated into something of a nightmare."
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