https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jan/03/britons-living-in-spain-barred-from-madrid-flight-in-post-brexit-travel-rowBritish residents flying home to Spain have been prevented from boarding a joint BA-Iberia flight to Madrid because the airline claimed their pre-Brexit residency papers were no longer valid
This is more a side effect of Brexit, but still. There seems to be some confusion among a lot of people commenting on this on social media etc so I'll try to explain. In order to fly between the UK and Spain brits need a passport like they always have. All the passengers had passports I assume. Due to Covid you also currently need to prove you are a Spanish resident. Prior to Brexit the only way to do this was with a green piece of paper that has your NIE (Spanish ID number for foreigners), address, name and date of birth and states that you are a permanent resident. It's what all EU residents need after spending more than six months in Spain.
A few months ago the Spanish government gave Brits the option of getting a plastic ID card that non EU citizens need when they are permanent residents of Spain called a TIE. They clearly stated that after 1/1/2021 it is still not necessary to have this card to prove your residence, it's optional and the old green piece of paper is sufficient.
The airline decided that they wouldn't let passengers fly unless they had the new card. All passengers denied had their passports and the green piece of paper, which UK and Spanish authorities said would be enough, and prior to Brexit there would have been no doubt that they could board the plane.
It's this kind of thing I've been worried about all along. Now our rights to live in EU countries have been taken away from us there will always be doubts from individuals, e.g. the airline staff, police, boarder control etc about whether we're allowed to travel and reside in the EU and they'll always err on the side of caution. It's always easier to say no if you're not sure, as soon as you say yes, you assume some kind of responsibility.
As a side note, getting a TIE card is not an easy process. I've lived in Spain for years and my Spanish is good enough to manage, but dealing with Spanish bureaucracy is always a pain. I had to make two separate visits to get mine so had to take two days off work. My kids also need them and each one has to personally attend both appointments. It wasn't possible using the booking system to get a slot for more than one person at a time and I'll need to go with them both, so that's six days off work in total.
