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ARCHIVED - British passengers refused entry to Spain from Gibraltar after their flight was diverted
The London-bound easyJet flight was diverted from the Rock to Malaga Airport
Confusion and chaos continues in Gibraltar as border management negotiations between Spain and the UK drag on, and the latest casualties were 90 passengers trying to catch a flight to London this week.
easyJet flight EZY8909 was diverted from Gibraltar International Airport to Malaga on Tuesday December 13, and the authorities put on a coach to take the travellers across into Spain to catch their new plane.
However, drama ensued at the border with Spanish guards initially refusing entry to all citizens of non-Schengen countries, including British passport holders, claiming that “they had no evidence or guarantee that they had the intention to board an outbound flight from Malaga Airport,” according to a Gibraltar Government statement.
This is despite the fact that all 90 passengers had been issued with new boarding cards, changing the origin airport from Gibraltar to Malaga.
Witnesses told local media outlets that one of the passengers stranded on the stationery coach and refused entry to Spain was a 4 month old baby due to fly to London for heart treatment.
All of the travellers were eventually left through after Spanish border security acknowledged that the altered boarding passes were "sufficient proof” that they had legitimate bookings, but the ordeal caused massive delays at Malaga airport.
However, the disruption didn’t stop there and later on the same day, passengers travelling aboard a BA flight from Heathrow to the Rock who were diverted to Malaga were warned that they wouldn’t be allowed off the plane unless they had visas for Spain.
This sticky situation took interventions from the Gibraltar Government and the British Embassy to resolve but after a considerable wait, the passengers were permitted to disembark.
In the statement, the Government of Gibraltar has confirmed that it has passed the matter on to the relevant authorities.
Image: Archive
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