Well said Colin, I agree whole heartedly.

My Sister worked for British Airways cabin crew for 25 years, and it seemed was always on some refresher/training course.

My Son is a Squadron Leader in the RAF, and he said the same thing about the safety aspect of civilian airlines, he trains helicopter pilots, and his nickname when he was in Afghanistan was 'safety Dave'

So I reckon you're not far wrong in the assumption of incompetence with the Spanish air traffic control, can be added to the never ending list of incompetence of the Spanish Government allowing this beautiful country to fall into the abyss that it now finds itself in.