Spain’s maritime rescue agency Salvamento Marítimo and the Guardia Civil confirmed that at least 606 people arrived on Spanish shores between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday, 24 September. Ten small wooden boats were intercepted in waters around Ibiza and Formentera, while another six—including a large cayuco carrying 167 people—were rescued off Lanzarote and El Hierro in the Canary Islands. Most of the arrivals were North-African men travelling without valid visas, although crews also detected women and several minors. Medical teams from the Servicio de Urgencias Canario and the Red Cross treated cases of dehydration and one mild hypothermia before transferring travellers to temporary reception facilities run by Spain’s immigration service. The new wave of boats comes just eight weeks after the mass crossing into Ceuta and one week after Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told EU counterparts that Spain had cut unauthorised entries by 9 % compared with 2025. Local officials in the Balearics warn that reception centres on Ibiza and Mallorca are at 120 % of capacity, forcing them to rely on sports halls and hotels. For corporate mobility managers the spike underscores ongoing operational risk on Spain’s Mediterranean routes. Ferry schedules between mainland Spain and the islands remain unaffected, but business travellers should factor in slower passport control as police reallocate officers to processing centres. Employers planning short-term assignments on the islands are advised to secure accommodation well in advance and monitor updates from Delegaciones del Gobierno. Madrid continues to lobby Brussels for emergency AMIF funds to expand reception capacity and speed up asylum screening. Although the European Commission released €114 million earlier this month, officials say an additional €60 million is required to deploy mobile biometric units that would integrate arrivals directly into the EU’s Entry/Exit System by year-end.
Source: Europa Press
