PAIN IN SPAIN
Brits warned of ‘nightmare’ queues at Spanish airport this summer with tourists being ‘trapped’ on arrival
Holidaymakers have already been hit by huge queues at Birmingham Airport this month
BRITS have been warned about “nightmare” queues at a Spanish airport this summer, with holidaymakers being “trapped” on arrival.
Tourists jetting into Alicante airport are facing a horror start to their vacation due to a lack of transport.
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Hoteliers and tourism leaders are calling for urgent action, saying it is giving tourism a bad image and putting holidaymakers off.
They say "drastic measures" must be taken immediately to solve a problem which has been going on not just for weeks but for years.
Massive queues of up to 100 people are being formed for taxis, especially after 10.30pm, and are predicted to get worse as the busiest part of the summer season rapidly approaches.
"This bad image must stop being a nightmare repeated year after year," said one official.
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Tourists who arrive late at night or in the early hours of the morning are being trapped because there are insufficient or no taxis.
There is also no bus service at these late hours.
As a result, tired holidaymakers are trapped in a long queue at the taxi or bus ranks until some sort of transport arrives.
The Hotel and Tourism Business Association of the Valencian community (Hosbec), says the repeated scenes are "embarrassing" and is calling for "extraordinary measures" to solve the problem.
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The lack of transport is also causing "outrage" among the dozens of passengers at what happens as soon as they land.
"This situation is being repeated more and more in recent weeks," said a spokesperson for Hosbec.
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The Valencia government says it will look into providing bus services to try to remedy as much as possible the problem of passengers "trapped" at the Alicante-Elche airport .
Taxi drivers say the situation is not their fault and blame the scenario on several planes arriving at the same time, especially if some of them have been delayed.
The same problem occurred last year when huge queues stacked up outside the airport.
The most common trips are made to the holiday resorts of Elche, Alicante, Benidorm or Torrevieja.
Now Spain's Ministry for Transport are set to hold a meeting with local councils and taxi operators to find a solution.
Those travelling to Alicante from Birmingham airport could even face massive queues on their way out of the country.
Just days ago we shared shocking video and pictures from the airport where passengers waited for hours to get through security.
New 3D baggage scanners had been installed, enabling travellers to carry liquids of up to two litres in their bags.
But restrictions on the way the scanners should be used sparked confusion over rules at security - leading to long queues.
The chaos meant people turned up three hours early for their flight only to find themselves stuck in long lines at security.
Holidaymakers were left queuing outside the departure check-in areas before even reaching the security hall.
And some passengers even claimed to have been on their feet for "well over two hours".
The new scanners might be in place in your local UK airport, but they aren't in place in a lot of holiday destinations.
Plenty of airports in Greece, Spain and other favourite destinations haven't updated their security systems just yet, meaning anyone planning to take bigger bottles with them should be prepared to leave them behind.
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No one wants to think about their flight home before they've even left the country, but it will affect how you pack your suitcase.
Therefore you should check whether or not your destination airport has the new scanners in place before you travel.
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