The hotel businessman and president of the Forum of Friends of the South of Tenerife (FAST), José Fernando Cabrera, yesterday denounced the “innumerable complaints” received in hotels in the southern part of the Island due to the “collapse” suffered last weekend in the terminal the Tenerife South airportwith “huge queues to pass the controls, remove the luggage, hire a rental car or order a taxi”.
“What is the value of all the promotional effort made by Turismo de Tenerife, the investments made by accommodation, restaurant and commercial establishments, and the work of the employees of the sector if the disastrous operation of the terminal notably bothers our visitors, and Let’s not say anything if they come with children or are older? ”, The former president of the Hotel and Non-Hotel Association of the province of Tenerife (Ashotel) asked himself yesterday.
In his opinion, “the inconvenience and ineffectiveness of the South airport terminal has become the main complaint of tourists who visit the island of Tenerife and who arrive tired after five and six-hour flights.” In addition, he demands a greater number of taxis, since, he assures, the lack of vehicles gives rise to “long waits and older people dragging their suitcases” outside the terminal.
Integral reform
José Fernando Cabrera, one of the most critical voices in the hotel sector regarding AENA’s investment policy on the island, recalled that the Secretary of State for Transportation, Isabel Pardo, guaranteed in a meeting at the Mencey hotel on October 18, which was attended by the Minister of Public Works, the president of the Cabildo and a group of businessmen, the “best project” to undertake the comprehensive reform planned from 2026.
“He promised to send the draft of the specifications to convene an international project competition, with sufficient financial endowment so that the main international architecture studios could attend, and we are concerned, because five months have passed, a time that exceeds by far what was committed by Mrs. Pardo,” Cabrera told this newspaper.
In that meeting, the Secretary of State did not confirm that the works can begin before 2026, the year in which DORA III (Airport Regulation Document) comes into force, which contemplates investments until 2030 and includes the construction of the new terminal, although he underlined the importance for his department of the planned investments in southern airport facilities: “You have the commitment of this Ministry that the southern airport is going to be a priority.”
Regarding the works currently underway, which are expected to be inaugurated shortly and which will allow the current area to be expanded by more than 50% and double the billing and shipping operational area, the president of FAST maintains that it is a “very low cost fix”. quality, typical of the village sports centers of the 70s, which has nothing to do with the projects that AENA has developed in the national territory”.
