Alex Cuenca

✈️ El Gobierno de Salvador Illa acelerará la ampliación de El Prat ante el límite de capacidad, con récord de viajeros y vuelos intercontinentales. La propuesta técnica se concretará en cuatro meses, y la ampliación podría figurar en el plan director de 2025. La comisión técnica, creada en 2014, se reunirá para discutir la inclusión en el DORA 2027-2031, con posibles obras a partir de 2027. Aena planea aumentar la capacidad del aeropuerto en 2028. Obstáculos políticos surgen por cuestiones ecológicas.

🏖 The Partido Popular, through Agustín Almodóbar, presented a motion in the Senate's Industry and Tourism Committee for urgent measures against the impact of tourismophobia. They warn that actions against tourists harm Spain's image and threaten its tourism potential. They urge for a campaign to improve tourism's reputation and a grand agreement among political parties, institutions, and tourism sector organizations, highlighting tourism's contribution to the economy and employment. The motion criticizes blaming tourists for issues that should be addressed by better tourism policies.

📌 Since September, the European Commission reinstated the original rule limiting liquids in carry-on luggage to 100 milliliters and requiring their removal from bags. This change follows the ban of G3 scanners at security checks—which previously allowed larger volumes of liquids without removal—due to their non-compliance with the International Airports Council (ACI) standards. Airlines like Iberia have already alerted their customers about the new regulations.

✈ Spain's Consumer Affairs imposed a significant fine on Ryanair, Easyjet, Vueling, and Volotea for what are deemed abusive commercial policies, including charging for hand luggage. Aviba president Pedro Fiol questions the fine's effectiveness and criticizes the lack of pricing transparency and standardized measures for passengers' benefits. He calls for European action to standardize regulations and protect consumers from dynamic pricing and excessive additional charges. Fiol highlights the need for regulatory uniformity across the European sector.

🔥 A YouTube user "Yehoshua spotting planes" captured the first major fire of Madrid on August 22 from an Air Europa plane after takeoff from Barajas. Originating in Tres Cantos, the fire is believed to have started from a cigarette butt thrown from a car. Over 500 hectares were ravaged by the blaze, which took Forest Brigades, Forest Agents, and Firefighters roughly two days to contain.

🚀 On August 22, EasyJet experienced an "unprecedented" security breach when passengers boarded a flight from Athens to Palma de Mallorca without proper travel documents. Three individuals were caught on the boarding platform and expelled immediately. Later, the cabin crew discovered a discrepancy in passenger count leading to police intervention and the arrest of two more individuals. A sixth person was detained during a full passenger disembarkation for further investigation. After over two hours of delay, passengers re-boarded, and the flight finally took off. Suspicions arise that these individuals might be part of a human trafficking network known at Athens airport, which has been under legal scrutiny for years.