Passengers fight, miss flights due to passport control system failure

(Dan Tri) - After the passport control incident was "paralyzed" at the beginning of the peak summer tourist season, congestion, clashes and a series of tourists missing their flights caused chaos at an airport in Spain.

The Mirror reported that on July 2, a "temporary computer problem" occurred at Terminal 4 of Madrid-Barajas Airport (Spain), causing security checks to almost be paralyzed, leading to congestion, collisions and consecutive missed flights.

The airport operator said the system failure caused congestion at passport control stations already overwhelmed by the high volume of passengers.

Many passengers had to wait more than an hour to complete the document and security checks. A tense atmosphere prevailed among the jostling crowd.

Tourists were left angry as they waited in long queues. Arguments broke out and the airport descended into chaos. The passport control area was described as "completely collapsed".

Many people had to wait more than an hour to get through security (Photo: The Mirror).

Local media reported that Spain's Civil Guard had to intervene as small scuffles broke out between angry passengers. Hundreds of people are estimated to have missed their flights.

Airport authorities said they were working closely with authorities to "control the flow of people and prevent disruption," but passengers and airlines said the incident was entirely preventable.

Airlines say the situation is made worse by a lack of police at Terminal 4. It's a serious gap during peak travel season, when the number of visitors to European airports surges.

The incident at Madrid-Barajas airport comes just days after European airline Ryanair issued a dire warning about the risk of delays at several airports in Portugal.

The low-cost airline revealed that queues lasting up to 2.5 hours disrupted flights from Faro, Lisbon and Porto (Portugal), causing many families with young children to wait in line and passengers to miss their flights.

"In the past two weeks alone, more than 270 passengers have missed their flights at these airports due to excessive delays caused by a lack of staff at border checkpoints," Ryanair said in a press release.

The airline said the fault lies with the airport management unit in this incident (Photo: The Mirror).

The company called on the Portuguese government to act quickly to address the growing staff shortage before the crisis spreads.

Ryanair blamed the airport operator for failing to prepare adequately for the annual summer tourist peak, warning that if immediate action was not taken, chaos would continue during the summer peak, especially during morning rush hours.

Meanwhile, travel companies have noted a growing trend of British tourists ditching traditional European destinations for North Africa, with countries such as Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia seeing a surge in British visitors.

According to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium, there are expected to be 19,847 flights connecting UK airports with the three North African countries this year, more than double the 8,653 flights in 2019.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/khach-au-da-lo-hang-loat-chuyen-vi-sap-he-thong-o-san-bay-tay-ban-nha-20250703104446170.htm