Start of a turbulent year for air transport in the Canary Islands

 

Bad start to the year for the air transport sector in the archipelago. After a closure of 2023 marked by the Civil Guard operation that uncovered a criminal organization among workers at the Tenerife South airport who opened and stole the suitcases they handled daily, 2024 has begun with several unusual situations at airports and flights to or from the islands.

 

The most widespread news has been the Iberia handling strike, which affected the Tenerife and Gran Canaria airports, with the greatest impact on the latter. A 4-day strike whose monitoring the company estimated at just under 20% and which left more than four thousand suitcases lying around at the Gran Canaria airport.

 

However, it has not been the only setback that the Gran Canaria aerodrome has suffered this beginning of the year. As reported by Maspalomas24h, this Monday a SAS plane was transferred from Madeira to Gran Canaria for maintenance after a forced landing on the Portuguese island.

 

However, Tenerife has also had a difficult start. On January 5, passengers on flight LS918 of the British company Jet2 that took off from Tenerife South airport found a body in the plane's bathroom. The warning was raised when the passengers realized that the bathroom had been occupied for too long, which is why they notified the crew, who made the decision to open the bathroom after receiving no response from the affected passenger. Despite resuscitation attempts, the man died in mid-flight and the aircraft was diverted to Cork airport, in Ireland, where the body was evacuated.

 

Tenerife was also affected (although indirectly) by an Iberia error that caused discomfort and confusion in Valladolid for an entire passage. The company mistakenly boarded passengers from a flight to Palma de Mallorca on one destined for Tenerife North; When announcing the destination before takeoff, the passengers raised the alarm and the company had to relocate them to their original flight to the Balearic Islands, causing major delays on both flights.

 

Aside from some diversions due to wind, the latest complicated situation in the air, which affected the islands, occurred yesterday, Tuesday, when a Norwegian Airlines plane from Gothenburg reported having a passenger in serious condition on board . This forced air traffic controllers to reorganize ground operations at Gran Canaria Airport. A complicated situation in itself, but made even more difficult by the fact that a medical evacuation plane to Lanzarote was scheduled to take off at that moment. Ultimately, the control tower managed to coordinate the situation and prevent further problems.