Strong winds brought chaos to Tenerife North Airport yesterday, leading to the cancellation and diversion of many flights and long delays. Operations at the airport were hampered not just by the overall wind strength but also by the sudden changes in wind direction and velocity, which made conditions hazardous for take-offs and landings.
A combination of winds up to 90 kilometres per hour – which made the Canaries the windiest part of Spain throughout the day – and very dense low cloud brought misery to thousands of passengers, many of whom were due to fly to La Palma for the start of the island’s big 5-year celebrations and now face the prospect of several days’ delay due to flights being full. In all, ten flights had to be cancelled and a further 35 were diverted from Tenerife North, in some cases after circling for considerable time to see if landing was possible. The problems caused serious knock-on effects in airports on the other Canary Islands and further afield.
Hundreds of passengers spent much of the day in the airport as they pinned their hopes on flights between the islands resuming late at night, while others opted to head to Santa Cruz to try and secure a place on ferries despite the rough sea conditions. Others still had to find accommodation to spend the night and try to fly again today.
The impact of the wind was not limited to the island’s northern airport. Spain’s Airport Authority (AENA) reported that five flights, including two from the United Kingdom (Bristol and London), had to be diverted to other parts of the Canaries at the height of the blustery conditions.
The wind is expected to continue for part of today in many northern parts although with much less impact on air traffic.
(Archive photo)
