7 August 2014
With traffic jams of more than 100 km long on the roads in and out of Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla, the beginning of the summer holidays of August in the islands can be seen clearly in the main Canary Islands airports. Yesterday was the highest air traffic day with more than 130,000 passengers. During the weekend it is expected that 250.647 travelers will fly in and out in the 1.800 scheduled flights. The start of the summer holidays in August is felt in the islands in a very different way than in the peninsula. The hallmark of the start of this vacation month in the mainland are the intense traffic jams on highways leading in and out of the largest cities such as Madrid or Barcelona. In the islands, by contrast, the largest concentration of tourists happens at the airports, and during the peak days from July 30th to August 5th, 817.722 passengers flew in and out of these airports, 10% more than last year. Gran Canaria airport was the one with the most programmed flights.
In fact, the island airports have seen a total of 817.722 passengers and 6.083 flights between July 30th and August 5th during the peak days of the start of the August holidays, representing 10% and 12.9% respectively than during the same time last year. Gran Canaria airport was the busiest, with a total of 219.440 passengers, 6.3% more than last year’s departure peak days in August. Following is Tenerife Sur airport, registering 186.993 (8.9% more) and Lanzarote, up by 14.1% with 155.506 passengers.
Canary Islands families will try saving during their holidays due to the economic crisis. They try finding cheap travel packages or spend their vacation in the homes of friends and family. The expense of buying airline tickets for an entire family is very high. A trip for four to the Iberian Peninsula can’t be purchased for less than 500 euros, not including boarding and other expenses. Raquel Vega Ramirez left yesterday, accompanied by her two children, her husband and sister. They were flying to Sevilla, José Antonio Nolasco, security guard, paid a lot more for his ticket, since he purchased it last minute. He paid 200 euros for a round trip ticket.
While in Seville, they will stay with family. They will spend 15 days in the city and plan to spend around 300 euros, 700 more than what they paid for their plane tickets. “Food is cheaper there” says Raquel. The children can’t wait to go to Isla Mágica theme park and that’s just what they will do. Manuel Sanchez Escuder, retired, was also leaving for Andalucía with his partner and two children who had never been to Manuel’s birthplace, Málaga. “I was always travelling from island to island” said Rosa Delia Guerra. They plan to visit Benalmádena (Málaga) and driving a rental car to Nerja, Torremolinos, Zafra, Ronda and Granada to visit the Alhambra. In this case, they will be spending around 1.000 euros for meals and entertainment. “Nineteen days in style” said Manuel Sánchez.
José Manuel Reyes, has a different situation since he’s in the military and destined in Gran Canaria for two years. He had spent six months away from his home in Cádiz. He was fortunate because his ticket was free, since his car broke down and he’s spending the insurance money. He doesn’t plan to spend much during his stay in Chiclana. He’s going to his mother’s house and plans to eat most meals there. He plans on driving his motorcycle as much as he can before having to return to the islands.
Nerja Taxis have seen peak numbers of transfers from Malaga Airport over recent days.
