Airport Tenerife Sur fails in the partial examination that went ahead during the autumn 2023.
The furlough, which goes on globally in Europe in the first half of November, has had two failures. In 2022, the airport’s €220 million renovation included the construction of a new terminal and the expansion and improvement of infrastructure. From the looks of it, there are still factors that make an inadequate performance, as Tenerife Sur airport continues to fail.
Despite the renovation, problems have arisen at taxis and customs control in recent months. Waiting times at taxi ranks have increased significantly and there are complaints about the quality of taxi service. Waiting times at passport control by customs have also become very long, leading to frustration among travellers.
Two slips
Ashotel – Asociacion Hotelera y Extrahotelera de Santa Cruz de Tenerife – the umbrella body responsible for hotels and aparthotels in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, denounces the chaos that has been taking place at the airport for months. The situation has become skewed after the Brexit due to extra passport controls for tourists coming from the UK.
First, they stand in queues – read: for hours – at passport control only to all join a mile-long queue to take a taxi. Tenerife Sur airport is failing on two levels.
This condition is incompatible and flies in the face of the airport’s modern announced first-class infrastructure. Indeed, this airport ranks seventh within the AENA network, with 15 million passengers in 2022. By 2023, over 16 million passengers are expected to use the airport as an arrival and departure airport.
Two problems
Tourists coming from a European country that is not part of the European Union, such as the UK, are subject to passport control. Since 1 January 2021, citizens of the United Kingdom are no longer EU citizens and need a visa to enter the Schengen zone, which includes the Canary Islands.
This is a situation that has been going on for two years. According to tourism industry sources, this shortcoming can be solved quickly and optimally. Because all flights are known well in advance, extra staff can be provided with one snap when flights arrive from outside the Schengen zone.
Once the English-speaking passengers have slogged through passport controls, the crowd moves outside where there is a queue to get to the taxi stands. Not just any queue, but a kilometre-long traffic jam that unravels along the airport building.
Simple solutions
The airport authorities are aware of the problems and are working on a solution. There are plans to redesign the taxi stands and improve the operation of customs control. However, it is not yet clear when these measures will be implemented.
The taxi stands will be redesigned to reduce waiting times. More taxi stands will be built, and the stands will be better signposted and more easily accessible.
Customs control will be improved by increasing the number of staff. New technologies will also be used to speed up checks.
The airport authorities hope these measures will solve the problems so that Tenerife Sur airport will once again become a pleasant place of arrival and departure for the millions of passengers who have touted Tenerife as a favourite holiday destination.
More news can be read [HERE].
Guy Devos © Photography
Airport Tenerife Sur fails
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