A Ryanair flight is said to have left nearly 90 passengers behind at the Spanish island of Lanzarote after severe delays.
The flight, from Lanzarote to Bristol, reportedly left half empty – leaving some 89 passengers behind after delays at passport control.
Delays in the non-Schengen passport control area are said to have led to airline staff losing patience.
The staff removed their suitcases from the plane – which took nearly an hour before it took off.
The flight landed in Bristol 52 minutes late, according to newspaper La Voz de Lanzarote.
It remains unclear if the passengers were able to return home and how long they were stranded in Spain.
Last year, 17 non-EU flights arrived at the airport and collapsed its passport control.
Travellers at the time said the airport did not have enough police to carry out passport control checks.
A Ryanair plane before departure in Cesar Manrique Airport of Lanzarote
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In August, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Lanzarote, Jose Valle, said the implementation of the new European entry and exit control system (EES) could cause “serious collapse” at Lanzarote airport.
The automated IT system allows non-EU and non-Schengen citizens on short stays, alongside all EU citizens, to scan their passport and provide biometric checks without interacting with a person.
The full rollout of the new border system will come into force on April 10.
The EU has aimed to digitalise its borders, with new travel rules for non-visa national entering the Schengen area.
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Lanzarote is popular to tourists for its beaches and volcanic landscapes
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Air transport organisations have called for urgent action to combat “chronic border control understaffing” and “unresolved technology issues”, which may lead to significantly longer wait times in Lanzarote this summer.
Some industry sources suggested the wait may have been linked to the dispute between Ryanair and the company which runs Spanish airports.
Ryanair has been in a spat with Spain’s AENA, the state-owned operators of airports within the country, stemming from increased airport charges.
Ryanair has cut traffic to Spain’s regional airports, slashing over a million seats to certain Spanish routes and saying AENA does not “understand how to take advantage of Spain’s airport infrastructure to boost traffic, tourism and employment”.
AENA’s leadership shared their plans for the future of Spain’s airports, including price increases
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The airline claimed AENA was installing monopolistic fee increases, particularly at under-used Regional airports.
In September, AENA said Ryanair was acting dishonestly, and had a “disturbingly plutocratic idea of the political system”.
The organisation gave a litany of reasons as to why they could not change their fees.
“A country such as Spain where tourism and air transport are so crucial for its economy, citizens’ welfare and regional cohesion, cannot design and formulate its airport system according to the spurious and selfish interests of a single airline,” AENA concluded.
Ryanair has been approached for comment.