DOZENS of Ryanair passengers were left behind at the Spanish island of Lanzarote after severe delays at passport control, it has been reported.
The flight reportedly departed from César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport for Bristol half empty, leaving around 89 passengers behind.
Delays began at the non-Schengen passport control area, where travellers line up to have their passports stamped before boarding the plane.
Running out of patience, airline staff began removing their suitcases from the jet – which took nearly an hour – and eventually left, newspaper La Voz de Lanzarote reported.
The flight landed in Bristol 52 minutes late after leaving the passengers on the ground, reports say.
It is not yet clear what happened to the passengers and how long they were stranded in Lanzarote.
It’s not the first time passengers have been left at Lanzarote airport.
In February last year, the arrival of 17 non-EU flights sparked chaos in the airport as they had to stamp their passports on arrival.
President of the Chamber of Commerce of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, José Valle, warned last year that the implementation of the EU’s new European Entry/Exit System (EES) could cause “serious collapses” at the airport.
The full rollout of the bloc’s new border controls is due to come into force on April 10.
It is part of a two-pronged approach that the EU is taking to digitalise its borders, which means new travel rules for non-visa nationals visiting the Schengen Area.
The incident at Lanzarote comes after air transport organisations warned that waiting times may be significantly longer this summer because of the new system.
They are calling for urgent action to combat “chronic border control understaffing” and “unresolved technology issues”.
Some industry sources suggested that the decision to leave the passengers behind may be linked to Ryanair’s ongoing frustration with Spain over increased airport charges introduced by AENA, the state-controlled airport operator in the country.
But the budget airline has not formally commented on the incident.
Ryanair is furious about the price hikes, saying: “The statement from AENA’s monopoly on February 25 is astonishing for its inability to understand how to take advantage of Spain’s airport infrastructure to boost traffic, tourism and employment.
“The only reason Ryanair and other airlines are cutting traffic at Spain’s regional airports – which are now empty by more than 70% – is that AENA’s excessive fares are diverting that traffic to more competitive airports elsewhere in Europe.
“That is the economic reality of monopoly prices.
“This summer, Ryanair, which is the number one airline in Spain and Europe, will grow by less than 0.5 per cent at Spanish airports, including major and regional airports.
“At the same time, we will increase our summer traffic by 11 per cent in Morocco, 9 per cent in Italy and 60 per cent in Albania.
“The reason why we are boosting tourism markets in other countries and not in Spain is simple: access costs in other countries are significantly more competitive, and there the growth in passenger numbers is rewarded with lower rates.”
The airline already revealed that this year it plans to axe over a million seats to certain Spanish routes, with some routes being cut down, because of the dispute.
The Sun has contacted Ryanair for a comment.
