With the summer season approaching, the Spanish government is implementing changes to tackle the increasing number of tourists entering the country. Tenerife South Airport will have 32 additional National Police officers from July 1, as authorities aim to tackle growing congestion at passport control. Officials said the move should reduce waiting times for passengers as the island continues to experience high levels of tourism and flight arrivals.

The extra officers represent a 32% increase in police staffing at the airport, according to the Spanish government. Once the new officers are in place, the total number of National Police agents at the airport will be 132.

British tourists arriving at airports in the Canary Islands have previously complained about long queues, a lack of staff and disruptive behaviour from travellers, Manchester Evening News has reported. In May, a British couple shared their experience on TikTok in a video with huge crowds of people at Tenerife South. In the comments, they said the reason for the overcrowding was likely due to multiple UK flights landing at a similar time.

The Government Delegate for the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana said: “These new appointments will help ease the pressure at passport control during what is once again proving to be a very busy period for the Canary Islands.

“The objective is to maintain high standards when managing the arrival of holidaymakers to enhance their stay on the island.”

Since 2018, the Ministry of Interior has adopted a policy of offering more recruitment places each year than the number of vacancies recorded the year before. As a result, the number of National Police and Civil Guard officers across the Canary Islands has grown by 13% over the past seven years, now exceeding 8,000 personnel, Canarian Weekly has reported.