Lebanese Exploit Their Flight Stop in Barcelona to Seek Asylum in Spain

Spanish authorities told AFP on Thursday that a group of 39 Lebanese traveling between Egypt and Latin America took advantage of their stop in Barcelona to request asylum in Spain. A source in the Catalonia region stated that a charter flight from Cairo to Bogotá and Quito made a stop in the Spanish city on Monday. The source added that the group of passengers "did not continue (the flight) and requested asylum." The same source noted that the 39 passengers have initiated the asylum application process and are currently in an area of the airport where basic services are provided. The source mentioned that the descent of these passengers from the plane in Barcelona was expected and that this incident is unrelated to what recently occurred at Palma de Mallorca Airport. On November 5, Palma de Mallorca police arrested 16 individuals who fled from a plane that made an emergency landing at the city's airport, and they are still searching for 8 others. The police stated at that time that the plane, which was operating a flight between Morocco and Turkey, was allowed to make an emergency landing in Palma de Mallorca after a report of one of its passengers feeling unwell.