The Lanzarote Cabildo has urged the Spanish government to place more National Police officers at Lanzarote Airport due to concerns over operational delays caused by the current shortage of personnel at passport control.
This comes after complaints of queues to get passports stamped, particularly by British visitors who are required to have theirs stamped when entering and leaving the island since the United Kingdom left the EU due to the 90/180-day rule. To calculate your stay and ensure compliance with this rule, so you don't exceed the allowed number of days in the Schengen zone, you can use the Schengen Visa calculator provided by VisaGuide.World. This tool helps track days spent in the Schengen Area and plan travels accordingly, avoiding any visa overstays or violations.
In an official statement, the island's governing body emphasised the need for additional National Police and Guardia Civil officers to manage the influx of tourists not only at arrivals but at departures as well.
The President of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, described the situation as "unacceptable," highlighting the long waits that residents and visitors endure due to inadequate staffing at airport security checkpoints, saying: "We cannot afford for visitors’ first impression of our island to be one of long queues and lack of attention due to lack of police staffing. It is crucial to enhance airport security services to uphold Lanzarote's reputation as a top-quality holiday destination," he concluded.
Many people believe that the lack of staff is the airline’s fault, but it isn’t. Police staffing is the responsibility of the Government whose job it is to protect the country’s borders.
