British tourists deliberately delayed for 8 HOURS at Barcelona airport - strike chaos hits
STAFF at Barcelona airport are deliberately causing long queues to strengthen their bargaining position in an industrial dispute, it emerged today.
Chaos at Barcelona airport after staff go on strike
The workers believe they can win their dispute by causing travel misery for millions of holidaymakers.
A recording of a workers’ committee meeting, obtained by Spanish media, revealed their position, as a series of mini-strikes at the airport began today.
Genoveva Sierra, chair of the workers’ committee at security company Eulen, was recorded saying: “If there are no queues, everything is lost.
"If there are queues, everything is won. It’s that simple. We call the shots.
If there are no queues, everything is lost. If there are queues, everything is won. It’s that simple
“The media, the passengers and Aena (the Spanish airports authority) only care about the queues.”
Staff at Eulen, who operate scanners, search passengers and control the queues at Barcelona’s El Prat airport, today began a series of hour-long strikes, running from 5.30am to 6.30am, 10.30am to 11.30am, 4.30pm to 5.30pm and 6.30pm to 7.30pm.
Staff will strike at the same times on the 6, 11 and 13 of August.
And they have voted for an all-out strike beginning on August 14.
Lengthy queues began at the airport early this morning, with passengers taking to Twitter to complain.
Oriol Amat wrote: “The incompetence, the negligence at El Prat is causing unacceptable queues and is hurting passengers and the image of Barcelona.”
Video published by Barcelona-based newspaper El Periodico showed long, chaotic queues at security for outbound flights at the airport's Terminal 1.
Staff at El Prat airport have been working to rule for a week - deliberately taking the maximum of ten minutes to pass each passenger through security.
The industrial action during peak holiday season has caused more than 1,000 people to miss flights.
Around 350 staff from the private firm Eulen Seguridad want increased staffing levels and improved working conditions, saying they are stressed and work up to 16 hours a day.
Mediation between the workers and their bosses at Eulen, at the Catalonia Labour Tribunal, broke down earlier this week.
This week up to 30 per cent of flights have been delayed at the airport - because some are missing up to 50 passengers when due to take off.
El Prat is Spain’s second busiest airport, with 44.1m passengers passing through last year.
British and Irish passengers are facing long delays at other airports in Spain and around Europe because of tough new border controls.
Last month the new EU controls - coupled with a lack of staff - caused Brits to miss flights out of Palma airport in Majorca.
The new rules, requiring checks on passengers from non-Schengen countries including the UK and Ireland, were introduced following terror attacks in Paris and Brussels.
Passengers caught up in the mayhem at Barcelona airport today tweeted their anger at the delays.
Holidaymakers trapped in huge passport queue at Palma airport
Jenny Drury, from Manchester, tweeted: “Finally arrived back in England 8 hours later after hideous delays in Barcelona airport.”
Hannah Roome wrote: “Security mayhem at Barcelona airport. How can it get so bad!!!”
Twitter user @rainforestflour posted: “@Ryanair Hey! 22 people were not allowed on flight home from Barcelona airport yesterday afternoon. Plane left most empty. Security queue.”
And music photographer PJ Pantelis tweeted: “Barcelona airport has possibly one of the most inefficient security checks I've ever seen.”
Local media reported queues up to three hours at security checkpoints in departures in terminals T1 and T2.