The Port Authority of the Balearic Islands (APB) has sent the holders of the outdoor café and bar permits on Palma's seafront promenade a notification informing them that they must close their establishments at one o'clock in the morning. These closing times are the same as those applied by the City Council from 1st April to 30th October, on an exceptional basis due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The APB has detected that around the Avenida Gabriel Roca area in the Port of Palma, the practice of keeping these outdoor areas open until the early hours of the morning has become widespread. This has escalated since these establishments were allowed to extend the size of their outdoor seating areas to include one of the former lanes of traffic, which was proposed as a way of supporting the economic revival of bars, cafés and restaurants and of facilitating social distancing to offset the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, numerous complaints have been received from residents who have reported loud noise in the early hours of the morning, thus disturbing their sleep as a result.

In the letter, the establishments that have taken advantage of the initiative to extend their outdoor seating areas have been informed that the APB must enforce the Palma City Council's Municipal Bylaw on the Occupancy of Public Highways, which is regulated in the Port's Special Plan.

After the notification, the Port Police, in conjunction with the Palma Local Police, will be stepping up controls on closing times in this area.