The Mossos d’Esquadra have arrested four people at Barcelona’s El Prat airport for participating in a mass fight between unlicensed suitcase packers, which ended with one person injured. The confrontation occurred around six in the afternoon on Saturday in the departure area of Terminal 1, for control of the space. Since the pandemic, the concession that offered packaging with laminating machines to travelers was suspended and, so far, the airport has not awarded it to any other company, according to Efe.
In the recorded images of what happened, you can see the packers running through the terminal and clashing with the plastic rolls they use to cover the suitcases. Some passengers, accidentally caught in the fight, watch in shock as the young people continue their battle, which ended with one person injured by a blow to the head.
In the absence of an official packaging service, groups of young people have been offering the activity without a license for months and competing, squeezing the offer at rates that fluctuate between 5 and 10 euros. Last April, several of the packers already explained to EL PAÍS that discussions were taking place to take over “the good areas.” Police sources assure that they have a history of discussions prior to Saturday’s. To be the first, some packers said that they stood at the revolving doors hunting for tourists, with their rudimentary manual packing service.
Some try to do it outside the facilities to avoid problems with the security services or even with the Mossos, who claim that they are fined up to 200 euros and confiscate the packaging rolls, which cost about 15. An airport spokesperson alleged to this newspaper the difficulty of controlling who enters the facilities, indicated that the intention was to award the official service before the end of the years, although he assured that when the licensed laminators were operating there were also those who offered to pack the suitcases irregularly, at a cheapest price.
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