Madrid hosts NATO Summit amid stringent security measures

SECURITY in Madrid is at its tightest ever this coming week as Spain's capital gets ready to host the latest NATO Summit – in fact, residents and commuters have been urged to work from home if their jobs allow for it.

City-dwellers have even been asked to try to avoid using their cars if they can during the three days of the Summit – which runs from Tuesday, June 28 to Thursday, June 30 inclusive.

The metro station closest to the IFEMA exhibition centre will be closed to the public on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for safety reasons, and streets and the rail network will be monitored by police and private security 24 hours a day.

To make sure everyone living and working in Madrid is aware of the restrictions, megaphones, social media, and 700 giant digital screens have been broadcasting information and recommendations since Friday.

Round-the-clock monitoring of public transport started on Friday as a dry-run for the Summit, so that security forces would be fully prepared for the task from Monday, June 27 onwards.

From that day until after midnight on Thursday, anyone who needs to travel to or within the capital is 'recommended to and thanked in advance for' using public transport rather than private vehicles, in order to keep traffic to a minimum in the city, according to notices set up by authorities.

With over half a million vehicles entering Madrid every day, gridlock is very likely due to numerous roads being closed, so any unnecessary travel is advised against, and companies are asked to let their staff work from home if they can.

In light of the expected spike in passengers, metro services on Lines 1, 5, 6 and 10 will increase by 10% and, if needed, also on Lines 4 and 9.

Extra personnel have been drafted in for the metro stations at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas international airport terminals one to three, and for the Terminal 4 stop and the next station along, Mar de Cristal.

Changes have been made to bus routes and to the metro Line 171, to ensure passengers can still reach the public hospital on the latter, and to give the IFEMA a wide berth.

The city bus company has been authorised to provide an exclusive extra service solely for NATO Summit attendants and the media – a shuttle running from June 27 to 30 inclusive from Mar de Cristal metro station to the IFEMA North Gate between 09.00 and 22.00.

This route will be non-stop, and on June 29, will run 24 hours a day.

Buses will be free of charge to the general public from Tuesday to Thursday inclusive, although the city council recommends residents do not travel at all if they can avoid it.

Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida warns that road-blocks will be in place within a three-kilometre radius of the IFEMA centre, and that the Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid's main business boulevard, will be 'practically cut off'.

Large swathes of the city centre will be off-limits for parking, and building work will reduce this week as skips, scaffolding and other equipment that involves taking up street or pavement space will be banned.

Traffic police will be out in force on the A-2 motorway and the regional M-11 and M-40 highways, and road-blocks will be in place from Tuesday, particularly during the morning and early afternoon rush hours.

Anyone who cannot avoid entering Madrid via the A-2 over the NATO Summit period should take the R-2 Radial road and then the M-50, traffic authorities say.

Those with airport pick-ups, flights booked, or due to arrive in Madrid by air, are strongly advised to use the metro to and from the terminals rather than driving.

Heightened security also includes close monitoring of social media, blogs, websites and any discussion forum linked to these by the Central Cyber-Crime Unit, plus police checks at the borders in France and Portugal.

At any time, a NATO Summit would need to involve extreme security and the immediate area surrounding the venue practically cut off from the rest of the world – but Madrid's turn to host it comes in the thick of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, meaning safety efforts have had to increase substantially.