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STRIKES

Baggage ‘chaos’ at Spain’s airports as unions threaten more strikes

The final day of strike action by ground service staff begins on Monday, and though delays haven't been as bad as first feared, several airports around Spain have suffered 'baggage chaos' as flights left behind thousands of pieces of luggage.

Baggage 'chaos' at Spain's airports as unions threaten more strikes
Thousands of bags piled up around Spanish airports over the weekend. Photo: MARIO TAMA/Getty Images via AFP.

Monday 8th January sees the final day of four days of strike action by Iberia Airport Services staff that has caused ‘baggage chaos’ at several Spanish airports over the weekend.

The walk-outs, which were strategically called to coincide with Spain’s Christmas ‘Reyes’ weekend for maximum impact, were called by Spanish trade from Friday January 5th until today, Monday January 8th.

The strikes have caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights and affected more than 45,600 passengers, yet over the weekend it emerged that the real impact of the industrial action has not been cancellations or delays, something Iberia maintains has been kept to a minimum, but rather that thousands of suitcases have piled up around Spanish airports as flights have been forced to depart without their bags.

READ ALSO: Spain’s airports start four-day strike as negotiations break down

Throughout the weekend, Iberia claims that its punctuality rate has stayed above 75 percent.

The real problem for passengers has been with luggage, something described as ‘chaos’ in the Spanish press.

This is because the Iberia ground staff on strike belong to Iberia Airport Services – the airline’s subsidiary that provides ground services, including passenger transfer, loading and baggage collection and ramp services to planes – and which crucially handles ground services for several other airlines.

On Saturday and Sunday, the problems with processing and loading luggage were particularly bad at airports in Bilbao, Barcelona and Gran Canaria.

Spanish Union CCOO’s air sector boss in the Canary Islands, Antonio Sánchez Santana, said on Sunday morning that at Gran Canaria Airport there were between “3,500 and 4,000 suitcases” backed up at the airport.

Sánchez Santana added that “there are no major delays, but flights are taking off without baggage.”

“We are working with minimum services that we consider abusive, so luggage is taking a long time to be taken to the planes, to be loaded and stowed. However, the planes could leave with the luggage loaded, but Iberia, once again, prioritises punctuality rather than the well-being of passengers,” he said.

Trade union sources told Spanish press agency EFE that there were “delays of more than two hours and luggage chaos” at Bilbao airport over the weekend.

The dispute started because Iberia, unions claim, refuses to create a “self-handling” service (ground services provided by the company itself) at airports where it failed to win a public tender for services called by Aena, the Spanish airport operator.

Unions claim the outsourcing of former Iberia workers to new operators will be detrimental to their working conditions and rights. Around 8,000 staff employed by Iberia Airport Services subsidiary would be affected. These employees work across 29 airports in Spain, including the busiest ones, such as Barcelona, Alicante, Valencia and Málaga.

Last minute negotiations between Iberia and unions to avert the walk-outs broke down, meaning the strike went ahead, and unions have already said they will call further strike action if Iberia does not take action.

On Sunday morning, the head of the UGT air sector, Chema Pérez, and his CCOO counterpart, Paloma Gallardo, told EFE that “if there is no movement on the part of the company, we will call a new strike.”

Iberia responded in a press release: “In response to the unions’ threat to carry out new ground services stoppages in the coming days, Iberia reiterates that strike action is not the solution,” the company stated.

“The only way to find a solution that does not harm passengers or workers is through dialogue.”

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

How will the new app for Europe’s EES border system work?

With Europe set to introduce its new Entry/Exit biometric border system (EES) in the autumn there has been much talk about the importance of a new app designed to help avoid delays. But how will it work and when will it be ready?

How will the new app for Europe's EES border system work?

When it comes into force the EU’s new digital border system known as EES will register the millions of annual entries and exits of non-EU citizens travelling to the EU/Schengen area, which will cover 29 European countries.

Under the EU Entry/Exit System (EES), non-EU residents who do not require a visa will have to register their biometric data in a database that will also capture each time they cross an external Schengen border.

Passports will no longer be manually stamped, but will be scanned. However, biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard when the non-EU traveller first crosses in to the EU/Schengen area.

Naturally there are concerns the extra time needed for this initial registration will cause long queues and tailbacks at the border.

To help alleviate those likely queues and prevent the subsequent frustration felt by travellers the EU is developing a new smartphone app.

READ ALSO: What will the EES passport system mean for foreigners living in Europe?

The importance of having a working app was summed up by Uku Särekanno, Deputy Executive Director of the EU border agency Frontex in a recent interview.

“Initially, the challenge with the EES will come down to the fact that travellers arriving in Europe will have to have their biographic and biometric data registered in the system – border guards will have to register four of their fingerprints and their facial image. This process will take time, and every second really matters at border crossing points – nobody wants to be stuck in a lengthy queue after a long trip.”

But there is confusion around what the app will actually be able to do, if it will help avoid delays and importantly when will it be available?

So here’s what we know so far.

Who is developing the app?

The EU border agency Frontex is currently developing the app. More precisely, Frontex is developing the back-end part of the app, which will be made available to Schengen countries.

“Frontex is currently developing a prototype of an app that will help speed up this process and allow travellers to share some of the information in advance. This is something we are working on to support the member states, although there is no legal requirement for us to do so,” Uku Särekanno said in the interview.

Will the 29 EES countries be forced to use the app?

No, it is understood that Frontex will make the app available on a voluntary basis. Each government will then decide if, when and where to use it, and develop the front-end part based on its own needs.

This point emerged at a meeting of the House of Commons European scrutiny committee, which is carrying out an inquiry on how EES will impact the UK.

What data will be registered via the app?

The Local asked the European Commission about this. A spokesperson however, said the Commission was not “in a position to disclose further information at this stage” but that travellers’ personal data “will be processed in compliance with the high data security and data protection standards set by EU legislation.”

According to the blog by Matthias Monroy, editor of the German civil rights journal Bürgerrechte & Polizei/CILIP the Frontex app will collect passengers’ name, date of birth, passport number, planned destination and length of stay, reason for travelling, the amount of cash they carry, the availability of a credit card and of a travel health insurance. The app could also allow to take facial images. It will then generate a QR code that travellers can present at border control.

This, however, does not change the fact that fingerprints and facial images will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing into the Schengen area.

So given the need to register finger prints and facial images with a border guard, the question is how and if the app will help avoid those border queues?

When is the app going to be available?

The answer to perhaps the most important question is still unclear.

The Commissions spokesperson told The Local that the app “will be made available for Schengen countries as from the Entry/Exit System start of operations.” The planned launch date is currently October 6th, but there have been several delays in the past and may be another one.

The UK parliamentary committee heard that the prototype of the app should have been ready for EU member states in spring. Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the UK Department for Transport, said the app will not be available for testing until August “at best” and that the app will not be ready in time for October. The committee previously stated that the app might even be delayed until summer 2025.

Frontex’s Särekanno said in his interview: “Our aim is to have it ready by the end of the summer, so it can then be gradually integrated into national systems starting from early autumn”.

READ ALSO: How do the EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Can the system be launched if the app is not ready?

Yes. The European Commission told The Local that “the availability of the mobile application is not a condition for the Entry/Exit System entry into operation or functioning of the system. The app is only a tool for pre-registration of certain types of data and the system can operate without this pre-registration.”

In addition, “the integration of this app at national level is to be decided by each Schengen country on a voluntary basis – as there is no legal obligation to make use of the app.”

And the UK’s transport under secretary Guy Opperman sounded a note of caution saying the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

When the app will be in use, will it be mandatory for travellers?

There is no indication that the app will become mandatory for those non-EU travellers who need to register for EES. But there will probably be advantages in using it, such as getting access to faster lanes.

As a reminder, non-EU citizens who are resident in the EU are excluded from the EES, as are those with dual nationality for a country using EES. Irish nationals are also exempt even though Ireland will not be using EES because it is not in the Schengen area.

Has the app been tested anywhere yet?

Frontex says the prototype of the app will be tested at Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport, in Sweden. Matthias Monroy’s website said it was tested last year at Munich Airport in Germany, as well as in Bulgaria and Gibraltar.

According to the German Federal Police, the blog reports, passengers were satisfied and felt “prepared for border control”.

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