MALAGA’s top tourism boss slammed Madrid after chaos erupted at Malaga Airport during the Christmas rush.
Francisco Salado, president of the provincial council and head of Costa del Sol’s tourism board, accused the central government of “disorganisation” and a shocking “lack of investment” – warning that the airport fiasco had tarnished Spain’s international image.
The controversy came as Spain rolled out a new EU border control system, tightening checks on non-Schengen travellers – a rollout Salado called a “complete disaster.”
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“What we saw at Malaga Airport was absolutely unacceptable,” he said.
Salado claimed that thousands of passengers were left trapped in endless queues, with holidaymakers venting frustration even before reaching their hotels.
Airlines were forced to warn travellers to arrive hours early as overworked passport desks struggled to cope, Salado added.
He said staff shortages and malfunctioning equipment had crippled one of Spain’s busiest airports, which handled more than 25 million passengers annually – many from outside the Schengen zone.
Salado directly blamed Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Transport Minister Oscar Puente, demanding an urgent increase in police numbers and immediate fixes to the border control system.
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“The lifeblood of the Costa del Sol was on the line,” he warned, calling the situation a serious threat to tourism.
Madrid hit back, accusing Salado of playing politics over the travel chaos.
Javier Salas, the central government’s sub-delegate for Malaga, pointed out that Salado had stayed silent on long waits in health services run by his own party, the right-wing Partido Popular (PP).
He said: “We did not hear Salado once blame the regional government, run by the president of his own party, Juanma Moreno, for the daily queues people in Malaga faced at health centres.
“People had to beg for a GP appointment or wait 15 days for one.”
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