British Airways chaos as police storm runway | World | news

British Airways travelers faced chaos after Spanish police stormed a runway, causing a flight to be cancelled.

On Wednesday 9 October, a BA flight bound for Gibraltar was diverted to Malaga Airport due to adverse weather conditions in the British overseas territory.

This meant that BA’s return flight would depart from Malaga instead of Gibraltar.

However, Spanish border guards refused passengers in Gibraltar entry to Spain.

Spanish National Police officers would not allow non-EU passengers in Gibraltar to be transported to Malaga. As a result, the airline took the decision to cancel the Malaga return to the UK, reports Europa Sur.

Despite hours-long attempts by the authorities in Gibraltar and their Spanish counterparts, the issue could not be resolved and left passengers stranded.

These passengers stayed in hotels in La Roca and were rebooked on alternative flights on Thursday.

Spanish National Police agents at the border separating Gibraltar from La Línea argued that these travelers could not provide conclusive evidence – despite having a plane ticket in their name – that they intended to take the BA flight and would not remain il· legally in the Schengen territory.

However, Spain and Gibraltar have established protocols that allow passengers flying from Gibraltar to cross into Spain with their travel and flight documents if their service is diverted to Malaga.

No.6 Convent Place told the Gibraltar Chronicle: “The Spanish National Police inspector on duty refused entry to third country nationals, contrary to established protocols and the correct application of the Schengen Borders Code, in what seems to have been a unilateral action not supported by the Ministry of the Interior in Madrid.

“The established protocol is to provide a new boarding pass showing the flight now departing from Malaga and to provide a list of passengers to the border authorities.”

Express.co.uk has contacted BA for comment.