Costa Blanca
Cleaning staff will go on indefinite strike at Madrid airport

The AENA-run cleaning service at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport has announced an indefinite strike that will start for night shift employees on April 8th at 11:00 p.m. The state Federation of Services, Mobility, and Consumer Affairs, the UGT, released a statement stating that the step was necessary because of “the need to address the unification of agreements, the repeated breaches of these agreements, and the existing shortage of staff.” They also bemoan “the new cleaning requirements and methods imposed by AENA,” which they say “has generated a situation of constant stress and pressure” for the sanitation staff.
Twenty-nine percent more passengers travelled in 2024 than the year before, totalling 66,196,984. According to FeSMC-UGT, this notable rise implies that cleaning employees must bear a heavy “physical and emotional burden” each day in order to deliver high-quality service. Serveo Facility Management SAU, which operates in Terminals 1, 2, and 3, Serveo Servicios SAU, which operates in Terminal 4, and Optima Facility Services, which operates T-4 Satellite, are the companies that are impacted by the strike.
The striking committee draws attention to sick leave coverage, which is “numerous” across all terminals, in relation to unmet agreements. “We were without a replacement for as long as forty or forty-five days. The firms guaranteed that this issue will be fixed. We had to quadruple the regions that should typically be given because of the extreme wear and tear. According to Fernanda Correira, a committee member who represents the Workers’ Union (USO), “making promises seems very easy, but delivering is not so easy.” In addition, AENA has started surveying passengers about the quality of its services. To make sure the image is as “perfect” as possible, a sizable number of cleaning personnel are sent to the site where one of these surveys is conducted. On the other hand, other terminal components are overlooked.
Committee members have described nighttime as “the most critical time.” For the cleaning staff, the homeless population is a “serious problem” because it has grown from 30 or 40 to around 500 in the past ten years. They must travel two by two in the event of an incident, thus they work in terror. They claim that cleaning their regions takes a lot more time and effort and has an impact on everything else.
In the past, we employees would return home exhausted from the physical strain, but now days, the emotional component is what matters most. From the beginning to the end, we are under pressure to perform. In addition to the businesses, we also voice our displeasure with AENA, their client. Although everyone wants the airport to be clean, nobody appreciates the job we do. Not even the travellers, who occasionally even make fun of us. One of the 700 employees that make up the cleaning services workforce, including temporary workers, states, “We have a huge amount of sick leave for mental health reasons.”
The ASAE union, which has been against AENA for the “out-of-control” situation with regard to the number of homeless persons, says it “supports the strike due to AENA’s continued financial cuts in contracts.” “We completely understand that they want to work in decent and safe environments and not have to endure insults, threats, and attacks from the 500 people living in poverty at Barajas Airport, another reason for the protest,” they say. The striking employees “regret in advance any deep inconvenience this situation may cause to airport users.”
In the meantime, attempts to address the homeless disagreement between Madrid City Council and infrastructure administrators have not been successful. Both parties have remained silent during the “high tension” moments, expressing their profound care about the matter while frequently ignoring their obligations. The trend has not improved at all, and it may possibly worsen in the upcoming months due to the absence of alternative housing for these individuals, even if winter and the unfavourable weather are ending.
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Costa Blanca
Two police officers injured by a distracted driver in Santa Pola

According to the official channels of the force, a severe road accident on Avenida del Mediterráneo in Gran Alacant, Santa Pola, has resulted in the injuries of numerous individuals, including two local police officers.
The accident occurred as a result of a distracted driver at the wheel, resulting in the car colliding with the police vehicle.
The images released show the significant impact suffered by the officers’ vehicle, as well as the frontal damage to the other vehicle involved.
No details have been released regarding the severity of the injuries of those involved, although a message of hope for a speedy recovery has been conveyed to the injured.
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Costa Blanca
Firefighters rescue driver trapped in car on Torrevieja seafront

Firefighters from the Torrevieja fire station rescued a woman after her vehicle plunged off the seafront promenade at 06:07 this morning; emergency personnel responded with the assistance of the local authorities.
The driver, a 79 year old woman of foreign nationality, was driving the vehicle along the promenade when it was involved in an accident. The vehicle plunged down the embankment, a drop of over half a metre and leads to the rocks in the heart of Torrevieja.
The victim was unable to exit the vehicle independently due to the door being obstructed by the rugged terrain, necessitating the arrival of firefighters to the scene. Medical services treated her for minor injuries following the rescue. Cars are only authorised on the promenade for residents.
The local authorities are currently conducting an investigation into the causes.
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Alicante couple arrested for trying to defraud lottery winner out of 40,000€ with a fake 6€ ticket

In Alicante, National Police officers have arrested a 37-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman, who are purportedly involved in fraudulent activities. After successfully deceiving the proprietor into believing that the prize was only €6, the suspects attempted to cash in a lottery ticket valued at €40,000.
A citizen lodged a complaint alleging fraud, which prompted the investigation. She complained that she had acquired a lottery ticket and, the day following the drawing, visited a lottery kiosk to determine whether the ticket was eligible for a prize.
The seller informed her that the system was not functioning properly and that she could verify it using her mobile phone after verifying the ticket with the authorised ticket dispenser (POS). The vendor informed her that the ticket had a prize of six euros when she viewed it on the terminal.
For her part, the victim trusted the provided information and accepted the money without suspecting deception. At the same time, the seller retained the lottery ticket.
A few days later, the complainant discovered that the was infact worth 40,000 euros and that she had been deceived. She returned to the stand where she had checked the ticket to claim her prize, and the seller informed her that she was unaware of this and that she had thrown it in the bin.
Then, she proceeded to the authorised offices of the aforementioned lottery drawings to report the incident. Upon his arrival, she was instructed to submit a complaint regarding the events.
The agents verified that the coupon was indeed a prize after collecting all the information. The saleswoman confirmed on three separate occasions that she had retained the coupon after deceiving the complainant about the prize amount.
The investigation phase also disclosed that the lottery ticket had been attempted to be redeemed by the seller’s ex-partner. However, this was not accomplished due to the fact that the authorised collection offices were aware of the incident and the agents had requested that the payment of the prize be blocked.
The officers were able to corroborate that the seller and the individual who attempted to cash in the winning ticket were both involved in a fraudulent activity as a result of the investigations.
The investigators’ findings confirmed that the two suspects had reached an agreement to collect the winning ticket. They also discovered that the woman, a lottery seller, had deceived them by faking the malfunction of the POS machine and falsely informing the complainant that the prize was six euros.
Following the investigation and the collection of sufficient evidence to establish their involvement in the events, they were apprehended and charged with fraud.
The courts in Alicante were informed of the situation subsequent to the police investigation.
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