Tour operators warn that "a regrettable image is being presented" at the airport in Mallorca

"A regrettable image is being presented at the airport in Mallorca. We're almost in July and it's a disaster." Major tour operators are joining the complaints about the chaos and insecurity that are growing in Son Sant Joan due to the terminal building expansion works.

Unions and workers have been warning for months about the situations they are facing, pointing to Aena as responsible for the chain of accidents occurring at the third-largest airport in Spain, which is undergoing a renovation that seems to be falling apart. "There will soon be a tragedy; a fatality would be regrettable," warn sources from major operators who prefer to remain in the background but cannot avoid making a statement just hours after a video showing the collapse of a glass roof in the baggage claim area went viral, including among European tabloids.

Under these circumstances, the hole from the collapsed roof had been covered with plastic, and part of the area remained cordoned off, explained Aena about the measures taken. The area "is completely safe," they noted.

As every season, Son Sant Joan is packed with people, and the temporary conditions reigning in the terminal due to the renovation are stressing out operations in a terminal that sees nearly a thousand flights daily in summer and ranks among the ten European airports with the highest traffic according to Eurocontrol, the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation. The situation that unfolded Tuesday afternoon, with falling debris and rubble from the construction, along with a piece of wall on top of a glass roof that collapsed in the baggage claim area, made the front pages of British tabloids The Sun and The Daily Mail, and the German Bild, among other popular outlets among tourists visiting Mallorca.

"It's a shame. Neither Aena's headquarters in Madrid nor all those companies carrying out the renovation are doing well. They have been too ambitious, and it's a disaster," summarizes an executive from the tour operation. The worst is feared. "Imagine if someone dies; it would be regrettable." "The works - sources emphasize - are very behind schedule."

As of now, the airport that handled more than 33 million passengers in 2024 (4.5 million just last July) has other sources who believe that "even though the Ministry of Transport is busy with other matters, they should do something" regarding the chaos Aena is showing in executing the renovation, given that the airport manager is a semi-public company.

In addition to the usual complaints every summer, such as the long lines of British travelers due to border control delays, it is now reported that "there are English travelers who, after checking in, get lost and arrive confused at the departure gate and have to re-enter," shares a worker from a German tour operator. "Since they land, it takes them an hour and a half to leave with their luggage. They leave cursing Mallorca," she adds while pointing to the "head of the mafia of pirate transfers," those minibuses that "greet passengers with beers."

Another employee explains that from module C, "where the Germans arrive, you have to walk a mile and a half to get to the buses."

Similar sentiments are expressed by a British tour operator. "This year is a disaster. It seems they just started the bigger works," says a young employee. "A tourist told us that it was the worst airport and he wasn't coming back. If they used to leave in twenty or thirty minutes, now it takes an hour." "Before, the buses waited for customers, and now the customers wait for the buses," he adds ironically regarding how the coaches avoid stopping due to delays in passenger departure, thus avoiding parking fees in the airport parking lot imposed by Aena.

Meanwhile, in the area of the collapsed roof in the terminal building, travelers were passing by unaware of Wednesday's emergency or were using the vending machines located next to the collapsed skylight. The glass that fell was replaced with plastic, and a small part of the area remained cordoned off. "As a preventive measure, the ceiling has been temporarily covered while the glass is being replaced, and the interior area has been cordoned off and is completely safe," Aena sources explained.

"A colleague almost had a concrete block fall on her two years ago," recalled Francisco, who works in assistance for people with reduced mobility (PMR). "If someone had been there on Wednesday when the ceiling collapsed... A meter of wall fell, and we have a wheelchair station right next to it. Today I walk by in fear." In the opinion of the employee from one of the airport sectors constantly struggling with precarious conditions, "everything is too shabby. If there's a leak, they put a flower pot, and if a ceiling collapses, they put plastic."

From Més per Palma, they joined the complaints of "chaos and insecurity." "When you enter the airport, you see it with your own eyes," asserts Neus Truyol. The ecosoberanista spokesperson picks up on the workers' criticism. "Aena's greed knows no bounds. It is one of the main culprits of tourist overpopulation," she claims. With the renovation of the facility, "it disregards safety" despite the start of the peak season.

Truyol claims that Aena has authorized 12% more flights this year, meaning the record will be even higher. "Not everything is acceptable in the name of tourist overpopulation. The health and dignity of people must be a priority," she emphasizes. Més will send a letter to the airport manager demanding measures.