Airport security overhaul begin
WORK has begun at AlicanteElche airport to renew and enlarge security controls for passengers.
Airport authority AENA will be spending €7million on the scheme aimed at facilitating and speeding up the processing of passengers at the security control points.
Twenty-four new automatic boarding pass readers will be installed in the departures area that will lead to 24 new passenger and hand luggage security lines (there are currently 17). Four of these new lines will be separate from the rest to be used specifically by passengers with mobility problems.
The security control area in the departures area is being extended by 1,300 sqm, which will lead to the relocation of airport shops.
There will also be a priority security control for families with young children, with a wider passenger detector for pushchairs.
The existing fast-line for passengers who book the service via the AENA mobile phone app or webpage and associated airlines will remain in place.
In addition to the extension, all luggage X-ray machines will be replaced by new ones equipped with the latest detection technology.
A new hand luggage tray handling system will also be installed to automatically replace those at the beginning of the queue once they have been used.
The work is being carried out gradually over the low season this winter to cause the least possible inconvenience to passengers.
Costa Blanca News readers will remember that last week, two men claiming to be Iranian citizens managed to get on board a Flybe flight from Alicante to Exeter without a passport.