Spain’s Directorate-General of Traffic (DGT) has launched its annual ‘Operación Navidad’, a nationwide traffic-management plan running from 19 December to 6 January. This year’s operation is the biggest since the pandemic, with forecasts of 22.4 million car journeys – 8.5 million in the first phase alone. To keep traffic flowing, 6,000 Guardia Civil officers, 780 speed cameras, 39 drones and 245 mobile alcohol-testing points are now on duty.
Although largely domestic, the plan has clear global-mobility implications. Thousands of expatriates drive to France and Portugal for the holidays; the DGT has therefore synchronised real-time congestion data with both countries’ highway agencies and will open reversible lanes on the AP-7 towards the French border and on the A-5 into Portugal at peak times.
![‘Operación Navidad’: 6,000 Officers Deployed as Spain Braces for Record 22.4 Million Holiday Road Trips]()
Corporate mobility managers should anticipate journey-time increases of up to 40 minutes on the Madrid-Barcelona corridor and possible doubling of travel time on the Valencia–Alicante coastal stretch around New Year. Heavy-goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes face targeted restrictions, affecting relocation shipments and corporate fleet movements.
For companies coordinating cross-border holiday travel, VisaHQ can remove much of the administrative friction. Its Spain portal (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) offers real-time entry-requirement information, Schengen visa support and secure document-courier options, freeing mobility teams to concentrate on logistics rather than paperwork.
Practical tips: advise travellers to carry green-card insurance proof for cross-border trips, check that non-EU family members hold multi-entry Schengen visas, and remind drivers of Spain’s strict drink-drive limits (0.0 g/l for novices). Companies should also monitor DGT’s English-language X feed for live alerts.
Although largely domestic, the plan has clear global-mobility implications. Thousands of expatriates drive to France and Portugal for the holidays; the DGT has therefore synchronised real-time congestion data with both countries’ highway agencies and will open reversible lanes on the AP-7 towards the French border and on the A-5 into Portugal at peak times.
Corporate mobility managers should anticipate journey-time increases of up to 40 minutes on the Madrid-Barcelona corridor and possible doubling of travel time on the Valencia–Alicante coastal stretch around New Year. Heavy-goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes face targeted restrictions, affecting relocation shipments and corporate fleet movements.
For companies coordinating cross-border holiday travel, VisaHQ can remove much of the administrative friction. Its Spain portal (https://www.visahq.com/spain/) offers real-time entry-requirement information, Schengen visa support and secure document-courier options, freeing mobility teams to concentrate on logistics rather than paperwork.
Practical tips: advise travellers to carry green-card insurance proof for cross-border trips, check that non-EU family members hold multi-entry Schengen visas, and remind drivers of Spain’s strict drink-drive limits (0.0 g/l for novices). Companies should also monitor DGT’s English-language X feed for live alerts.
