Huge upgrade set for Spanish airport with reputation for constant queues

A major Canary Islands airport notorious for its long queues and hellish waiting times is undergoing major reform. Last year, a whopping 8.7 million passengers passed through , despite concerns over its capacity to 'meet international border control requirements'.

Serving as Lanzarote's only airport, the hub has two terminals and operates daily flights across Europe, including the UK. However, the tiny airport appears to be struggling to keep up with skyrocketing visitor numbers, which are largely driven by sun-worshipping Brits. In fact, British visitors on the volcanic island outnumbered German tourists last year by sixfold (1.6 million compared to 275,000).

Despite receiving a slew of five-star ratings on , swathes of customers have also left scathing reviews - with one traveller branding the airport 'chaotic and unorganised'. "I was waiting in the queue for bag check / boarding pass for an hour," one person moaned. "The woman at the desk was chatting to other staff the entire time even though there were two long queues of people waiting."

Another complained: "We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and faced over an hour-long wait at passport control—a frustrating start to our first trip to Lanzarote. I can only imagine how much worse it could be during the busy summer months," while a third described the airport as the world's 'worst'.

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Following a series of reports criticising the airport's long queues, flight delays, and even cancellations - the Spanish National Police is now slated to deploy 45 new immigration officers to the aviation hub. According to , this would effectively 'double the workforce' in the airport - which will make getting through passport control and into your taxi a complete breeze.

A spokesperson for the government said such an upgrade had been recommended for several years now, but warned new immigration workers should be exclusively assigned to work on border control duties - and not get pushed into other jobs. "I believe this decision may have been made in response to fears of potential sanctions from the , following complaints over insufficient staffing for the processing of non-EU passengers," they added.

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While the move may be a blessing for British travellers put off by long waits, it perhaps won't go down as well with locals who are becoming fed-up with over-tourism in the area. Despite only receiving a fraction of visitors compared to Tenerife and Gran Canaria, Lanzarote was still heavily involved in the slew of anti-tourist protests that erupted across Spain last year.

Frustrated residents took to the streets, armed with the motto 'Lanzarote has a limit' to demand a crackdown on holidaymakers - who are contributing towards the country's escalating housing crisis. Locals also highlighted the collapse of the waste management system, the lack of water for consumption and overcrowding of protected spaces.

Despite the push-back, many local businesses who are reliant on tourism, fought back - plastering their windows with 'LANZAROTE HEART TOURISTS' in their windows. "Tourism has been and will be our main sector, the one that has helped us grow and enjoy a better life and that, just like our island, we must protected," argued Augusto Ferreira, a pro-tourism campaigner and restaurant owner.

The Mirror has contacted the Ministry of the Interior to ask how much money the upgrade will cost.

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