Plans to turn Spain’s airport into an emergency arrival center for migrants have been described as a “concentration camp”.

SPAIN is considering the possibility of converting an airport south of Madrid into an emergency center for migrants.

Ciudad Real Airport, located in Castile-La Mancha about 200 kilometers south of Madrid, was originally developed as an alternative to Madrid-Barajas Airport, but went bankrupt in 2012 due to low passenger traffic.

Despite its strategic location and modern facilities – including a 24,000 square meter terminal and one of Europe’s longest runways at 4,000 meters – the airport has struggled to attract regular commercial flights.

Instead, its new use has been proposed as European Union leaders debate migration strategies at a summit in Brussels.

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The move comes as part of wider discussions about how to deal with irregular arrivals across Europe.

The Spanish government is evaluating several sites, including Ciudad Real as one of the candidates for temporary accommodation for migrants.

However, the proposal met with resistance.

Francisco Cañizar, the mayor of Ciudad Real, expressed strong disapproval, describing it as tantamount to a “concentration camp” and arguing that it lacked the necessary humanitarian standards for those arriving.

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Emiliano García-Page, president of Castilla-La Mancha, the region where the airport is located, said he knew nothing of the government’s plans.

The debate coincides with increasing pressure on Spain’s borders, particularly in the Canary Islands, which received almost 70% of the 43,000 migrants who arrived in the country last year.

The EU summit is expected to be contentious as some member states, including Poland and the Netherlands, favor tougher migration policies.

With migration policy at the EU level in the spotlight, the outcome of these debates could influence the future of Spain’s engagement in tackling the European refugee crisis.