On this week’s Inside Spain, we have a look at how Spain’s airport operator has named British vacationers as one of many causes it’s investing billions in e-gates at many extra airports, and in a single metropolis even constructing a brand new satellite tv for pc terminal primarily for them.
This week, Spain’s state-owned airport operator Aena introduced it could invest almost €13 billion over five years to expand and modernise its airports.
Madrid Barajas and Barcelona El Prat can be getting a lot of the cash, with €4 billion and €3 billion respectively.
Different in style locations equivalent to Málaga and Alicante can even be getting above €1 billion every, whereas the largest ‘losers’ are thought of to be Valencia and Seville, the place requires enhancements at their airports haven’t been met by Spain’s central authorities.
Some of the attention-grabbing aims of this big funding is the main target being positioned on the British travellers.
Commercial
Aena will strengthen controls or broaden separation zones between passengers from inside and outdoors the EU/Schengen Zone at 9 airports to deal with the brand new EES border management necessities, which in keeping with the most recent data is because of be launched in October.
For Aena, that is largely to cater for British passengers, who following Brexit are not EU nationals and subsequently can’t be waved by means of passport management upon arrival in Spain, usually resulting in longer ready occasions.
The enhancements can be made at airports in Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Menorca, Ibiza, Málaga, Alicante, A Coruña, Girona, and Santander.
It appears probably that a lot of this funding will go to the introduction of e-gates which can permit Brits and different non-EU nationals to scan their passports extra simply and rapidly slightly than ready in line to have their paperwork checked by police.
Spain is considered one of solely a handful of EU nations already permitting restricted e-gate entry for UK residents, however solely at chosen airports and at sure occasions. Even then, they usually nonetheless require a passport stamp, regardless of their passport additionally being processed routinely.
Aena now appears to be like set to introduce this self-service passport scanning expertise at many extra Spanish airports.
Within the case of Alicante, an outdated terminal can be demolished to construct a brand new satellite tv for pc terminal for non-Schengen passengers.
In line with Aena, “that is primarily because of the new border management necessities, mixed with a predominantly British worldwide site visitors and the necessity to present these passengers with a greater high quality space with a wider vary of providers.”
There are additionally strategies that airports equivalent to Málaga’s and Alicante’s can even quickly be outfitted with the expertise that enables passengers to not should take away liquids or laptops from their baggage, one other method of shortening ready occasions.
Spain acquired 18.3 million British nationals in 2024, a quantity which has been rising 12 months on 12 months regardless of the UK’s exit from the EU.
They’re in truth the largest group of overseas vacationers in Spain, way over French (12.9 million) and German guests (11.9 million).
American vacationers symbolize the second largest non-EU nationality when it comes to customer quantity to Spain final 12 months, with 4.2 million, they usually too will have the ability to profit from Aena’s big funding.
These airport enhancements at airports throughout Spain are attributable to happen between 2027 and 2031.
