A COSTA Blanca airport has brought in extra staff as waves of British tourists fuel a record-breaking passenger surge.
Alicante-Elche Airport has drafted in 30 police officers to speed up border checks until September, with dozens more temporary workers also brought in to provide extra support.
The eastern Spanish hub welcomed 2.3 million passengers last month – its busiest-ever July – with Brits accounting for more than 30% of the total, according to Spain’s airport operator Aena.
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That means a staggering 734,000 passengers travelled from the UK to Alicante in July, with the huge influx threatening to put the new Entry/Exit System (EES) border checks under strain.
Before the extra hires, officers had reportedly faced severe staff shortages as airlines increasingly scheduled flights between 10pm and 1.30am.
One officer told El Español: “At night, colleagues were tearing their hair out.
“In fact, on many occasions we had to close the police station because there simply weren’t enough staff to deal with it; we had serious problems.”
“But now, despite the huge influx of passengers, the situation is being handled well thanks to the arrival of additional staff,” the officer added.
Alicante Airport is already on course for a record year after handling 12.4 million passengers between January and July, according to Aena – a 9.6% increase on the same period in 2025.
The surge had raised fears that the extra pressure could clog up the EES, which was rolled out across the Schengen zone in April and now requires biometric checks on non-EU travellers, including Brits.
The extra officers were brought in from across southern Spain, with around half being newly graduated officers from a police academy in Avila, west of Madrid.
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Before the reinforcements arrived, just three or four officers were sometimes available during night shifts.
Aena has also brought in dozens of auxiliary workers to help passengers navigate the biometric EES machines, including showing them where to place their passports and how to position themselves for facial recognition cameras.
The additional officers are due to leave in September, when some will return to their regular postings and the newly graduated recruits will continue their training.
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