Stop That Plane!
Being a large, international airport, Barajas-Madrid (renamed for Adolfo Suárez, but everyone still calls it Barajas) is a secure airport. One cannot simply jump onto the tarmac and ask around for an airplane to the Canary Islands. It's simply not the done thing. Or is it when you are desperate to catch your plane that will take you to your long-awaited vacation?
Apparently, a man with a boarding pass for a Ryanair flight to the Canaries, passed through security like everyone else, but then got lost or caught up in something within the terminal and realized his flight was being called. He ran to the boarding area, and saw the gate had closed. Without thinking it twice, he opened the fire escape door, ran down the boarding bridge, and jumped a few meters onto the tarmac with his bag. There, he tried to get a luggage trolley to drive him out to the plane. The driver ignored him, and he ran further onto the tarmac. He found someone who explained his flight was at a different gate and was still boarding. The lost traveller was taken to the correct gate and allowed to board. He was finally on the way to his promised vacation.
So, was he arrested upon arrival? No. He was allowed to enjoy his vacation, while his information was sent back to Madrid, where they are investigating the incident. In Spain the buck passes as if it were a well-oiled pig at a Western country fair, and in the Canaries they say it's a matter for the Madrid police, because that's where the security breach happened. The Madrid police say they're investigating, but that at the moment, the man did not commit a breach of security because he accessed the tarmac through normal channels. The one thing they are sure of is that the man is looking at a possible fine of up to €45,000. That will be one expensive vacation.
Apparently, a man with a boarding pass for a Ryanair flight to the Canaries, passed through security like everyone else, but then got lost or caught up in something within the terminal and realized his flight was being called. He ran to the boarding area, and saw the gate had closed. Without thinking it twice, he opened the fire escape door, ran down the boarding bridge, and jumped a few meters onto the tarmac with his bag. There, he tried to get a luggage trolley to drive him out to the plane. The driver ignored him, and he ran further onto the tarmac. He found someone who explained his flight was at a different gate and was still boarding. The lost traveller was taken to the correct gate and allowed to board. He was finally on the way to his promised vacation.
So, was he arrested upon arrival? No. He was allowed to enjoy his vacation, while his information was sent back to Madrid, where they are investigating the incident. In Spain the buck passes as if it were a well-oiled pig at a Western country fair, and in the Canaries they say it's a matter for the Madrid police, because that's where the security breach happened. The Madrid police say they're investigating, but that at the moment, the man did not commit a breach of security because he accessed the tarmac through normal channels. The one thing they are sure of is that the man is looking at a possible fine of up to €45,000. That will be one expensive vacation.
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