The Ministry of the Interior has indicated that between 00:01 and 21:00 hours this Saturday, border controls have been carried out on 199 travelers from third countries arriving from Italy on 12 flights, on the initial day of implementation of the reactivated controls by the Government on air and maritime connections with the transalpine country.
At Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, a flight from Rome has been inspected, with 83 passengers from third countries verified by 4 officials. At El Prat de Llobregat, in Barcelona, the controls have been carried out on two flights arriving from Milan and Rome, with 67 passengers checked by 8 agents, these airports being the ones that have concentrated the highest volume of controls this Saturday.
At Seville Airport, two flights from Bologna and Florence have been supervised, with 11 passengers checked by 4 officials, while in Bilbao a flight from Rome has been controlled, with 5 passengers and 3 agents deployed.
In Valencia, three flights arriving from Cagliari, Naples, and Bari have been reviewed, with 33 people verified by 8 officials. At Alicante Airport, on the contrary, despite the arrival of three flights from Italy, no controls have been carried out during the day.
Temporary restoration of controls until September 7
The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has communicated this Saturday to various authorities of the European Union (EU) the Government's decision to restore border controls at airports and ports with direct links between the Kingdom of Spain and the Italian Republic.
The notification has been sent to the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Henna Virkkunen; to the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner; to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and to the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers of Home Affairs of the Member States of the European Union and of the States associated with Schengen, Thérèse Blanchet.
In the document, Grande-Marlaska details that the Spanish authorities are closely monitoring the evolution of the migratory situation in the Schengen area and, in particular, the pressure recorded on the central Mediterranean route affecting the Italian Republic and other Member States due to the activity of cross-border crime networks linked to irregular migration.
Given the possible consequences of this scenario for public order and internal security, Spain has opted to temporarily reintroduce controls at certain internal borders, under the protection of Articles 25 and following of Regulation (EU) 2016/399 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of March 9, 2016, which regulates the so-called Schengen Borders Code.
In the communication, Grande-Marlaska specifies that, in accordance with Article 27 of said Regulation, the temporary reintroduction of border controls will apply to air and maritime connections between the Kingdom of Spain and the Italian Republic from 00:00 hours on August 8 until 00:00 hours on September 7.
This period may be modified depending on how the circumstances that have motivated the measure evolve and, once concluded, the Spanish authorities will carry out a new evaluation to decide whether to maintain it, adjust it, or render it ineffective, concludes the minister.