Spain calls for peace as protesters threaten summer-long airport blockade (original) (raw)

Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza call for peace as protesters threaten summer-long airport blockade

The Spanish Minister of Tourism has called for peace following protests in Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza and threats of carrying out a summer-long airport blockade

Hundreds of people during a demonstration against tourist overcrowding and for decent housing, between Parc de ses Estacions and Plaza de España.

Calls for peace have been made as protesters plan a summer-long blockade of Palma Airport in Majorca, Spain.

During a parliamentary meeting, the Balearic Islands' Minister of Tourism, Jaume Bauzà, asked for protests to be peaceful and warned that blocking an airport is classified as a crime following threats to bring the travel hub to a grinding halt.

During the citizen's assembly on tourist overcrowding, Bauzà also said that the Government respects all opinions and considers them legitimate "as long as they are done in a civic way". "Protests must be peaceful and without endangering everyone's safety," he said.

The tourism minister stressed that "collapsing Son San Joan [Palma de Mallorca Airport] has no place in society" and warned that "anti-system measures to vindicate a certain issue endanger everyone's day-to-day life".

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Over 2.3 million Brits visit Majorca each year (

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Over 15,000 demonstrators descended across Palma’s Weyler Square in Majorca on May 25. The protest followed a march in Ibiza the day prior, as locals conveyed their anger over the damaging effects of mass tourism. The anti-tourism movement has also seen demonstrations in Tenerife, Lanzarote and elsewhere on the Canaries.

With more than 2.3 million Brits visiting Majorca each year, an airport blockade could cause major delays for Brits entering the country, and potentially even bring the airport to the point of collapse.

The tactic was first proposed at a ­“citizens’ assembly” in the town of ­Sineu and might also involves causing traffic ­gridlock outside the airport during peak times, The Times reports.

Bauzà likened the plan to the actions of Catalan ­pro-independence group Tsunami Democràtic, who besieged ­El Prat airport in Barcelona in 2019. The politician said that police and security forces would deal with the “containment of the action”.

After Catalonia, the Balearic Islands region was the second most popular in Spain in terms of visitors numbers last year. It attracted 14.4 million holidaymakers, who contributed 45% of the island's annual GDP.

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