Head of Costa del Sol tourist board blames central government for border control queues at Malaga Airport

The president of the Diputación de Málaga provincial authority and head of the Turismo Costa del Sol, Francisco Salado, has blamed central government in Madrid for the long queues that have been developing on occasions during the Christmas holiday rush at Malaga airport as a result of the transition to the new border control system for passengers travelling to and from destinations outside the Schengen area. Salado said it is "unacceptable" the situation that is being experienced at Malaga Airport this Christmas, where airlines like Ryanair are warning their passengers of these delays and recommend getting to the airport well in advance of their flight departure times.

"Malaga and the Costa del Sol are once again the victims of disorganisation, improvisation and lack of investment by central government, which is responsible for the chaos we are experiencing," he declared.

The Partido Popular politician, who is usually very critical of the ruling PSOE government's lack of investment in the province, has maintained that a third of the more than 25 million tourists who arrive at the airport each year have to pass through these controls and are faced with "a pressing lack of police officers and out-of-service machines".

In this sense, Salado has blamed "the long waits" suffered by passengers on the minister of interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the minister of transport, Óscar Puente. "The National Police are overwhelmed, they need the service to be reinforced, and the airport operator Aena must demand that the ministry of interior remedy this situation," he said.

"This lack of foresight and efficiency on the part of central government is a new affront to Malaga and the Costa del Sol and a threat to tourism, which is our main industry. Even the tourism entrepreneurs have offered to help to the best of their ability, offering information to tourists, but their proposal has not even been considered,” Salado claimed.

The president of the provincial authority said that Malaga and the Costa del Sol do not deserve "this mistreatment once again, which is especially hard during the Christmas holidays". "Central government has to find a solution to these long queues today, because every day that passes is a blow to the image of our destination and our country," he added.

These criticisms were responded to by Malaga's sub-delegate of central government, Javier Salas, who reproached Salado for his "sectarianism", for using the provincial authority to "oppose" Madrid, and for not being equally vindictive with the Junta de Andalucía regional government, in the hands of the PP, on healthcare matters.

“We have not heard him once blame the Junta, which is run by the president of his own party, Juanma Moreno, for the daily queues that people in Malaga have to endure at health centres across the province - having to beg for an appointment with their GP or wait for the regional government to take 15 days to give them one,” he said.