Disputes over the control of Barcelona airport by several organized groups of clandestine bag packers triggered a massive fight in Terminal 1 on Saturday afternoon, in the middle of the Puríssima bridge. Around twenty people participated in the violent brawl. The users of the infrastructure did not believe what they saw, in disbelief, stunned and some of them very scared. Several videos illustrate the punches and slides of the packers. The image of the airport in the capital of Catalonia was greatly affected.
One of those involved in the fight lost consciousness and when he fell to the ground he was cut. They had to use several T-shirts to stop the bleeding. Fortunately, the Mossos d’Esquadra intervened before the knives that the clandestine packers usually carry on the surface appeared.
Plainclothes police, public security and Brimo riot police who carry out anti-terrorist prevention every day went to the terminal to stop the fight. Four people were arrested in the dispute. They will go to court today. The rest of the participants fled in a stampede. The truth is that the Generalitat police are usually very aware of the usual frictions between the various groups of clandestine packers.
Sources from the airport manager Aena pointed out yesterday that, at least for now, they do not plan to take any extraordinary measures and that they will continue to collaborate with the Mossos d’Esquadra to guarantee the security of Barcelona airport, who trust that the new official luggage packing service of the equipment goes into operation in a few weeks. “It depends on the installation of the company’s equipment”. Aena presented the public tender in question in the summer.
This story began with the pandemic. The restrictions on mobility resulted in the termination of the contract of the company in charge of providing this service, of offering travelers the possibility of packing their bags before boarding. And with the slow recovery of normality, it occurred to a few that it was a good idea to go to the terminals with a roll and a cutter, that in this way they could earn a few calerones.
The problem is that it is a very profitable business. There is a lot of money at stake. In fact, in recent months prices have done nothing but rise. Until recently, packing a suitcase cost about five euros, and recently it has been approaching fifteen. It all depends on everyone’s luck when it comes to haggling over the price.
La Vanguardia already explained the complexity of this underground activity in the summer. The clandestine packers are not amused by the presence of journalists at the airport. They say they were told that as long as they acted discreetly and did not allow themselves to be photographed or recorded, they could continue to earn a living, at least until the equipment resumed conventional packaging service.
In the end, it couldn’t be any other way, the atmosphere became very rare between the counters. Three groups, mainly South Americans, are vying for control of the airport’s two terminals. The areas around the check-in counters for transcontinental flights in T1 are the most coveted spaces. This is where the biggest suitcases are always concentrated. In T2 from time to time some appear that go for free.
