Ryanair is once again based in Tenerife after the end of 2020 together with those of Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. It will be in the next summer season, from the end of March or the beginning of April 2023, when the Tenerife Sur airport will once again welcome the Irish low-cost company to connect with 40 international routes. Of these, three are completely new, those in Bordeaux (France), Eindhoven (Netherlands) and Stuttgart (Germany). The calculation points to the creation of 60 direct jobs. The figure doubles to 120 in the Archipelago because Canary Islands will host another base in Lanzarote with 30 routes. The two will enable the connectivity of 2.5 million passengers through 70 flights with European aerodromes.
Announces the return President of the Government of the Canary IslandsÁngel Víctor Torres, accompanied by Eddie Wilson, CEO of the company, of the Regional Tourism Councilor, Yaiza Castile and several executives of the airline that celebrates 20 years in Spain.
There will be 520 flights per week with a 10% increase in capacity and six new routes, the three from Tenerife Sur and another three from Cesar Manrique (Cologne, Knock and Paris. Operated by a company, Ryanair, which, according to data from a specifically commissioned study, brings more than two million tourists to the Canary Islands per year, with an annual expenditure of about 1,400 million euros and over 33,000 jobs.
Good sensations
Torres summarizes his good feelings with one sentence: “Today is one of those days in which we go to bed much happier.” He repeats the positive data that Wilson and the executives who accompanied him had already offered before.
“Today is one of those days when we go to bed much happier”
The head of the regional Executive considers the reinforcement of the connectivity that the expansion through the Canary Islands of the Irish airline supposes is essential. It also translates into an investment that generates wealth and employment. Torres assures at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Government in Santa Cruz de Tenerife that the strength of the Canary Islands as a destination is verified and the good prospects for 2023 with the 27% increase in seats on flights to the Archipelago in the current season, a 33 % in internationals and 17% in nationals. The president considers the reinforcement that this expansion represents for the air connectivity of the Islands “very important”, especially for the one that is specifically aimed at key tourist markets in Europe, such as Germany and France.
planes and jobs
The project offers 4 aircraft at the base, with 120 direct jobs between pilots, cabin crew and highly qualified engineers. The president of the Canary Islands insists on the need to dwell on the positive data after the hard years since the confinement due to the pandemic. Torres highlights Ryanair’s commitment to sustainability and trips to the Canary Islands at a key moment for the nine outermost regions (OR), which are trying to be exempt from the EU green tax on air and sea transport.
200
Millions of euros
The cost of the Ryanair base in Tenerife South is estimated at around 200 million euros, which together with the one in Lanzarote add up to the 400 announced in the presentation of the agreement.
Commitment
Ryanair is committed to further grow and develop the Canary Islands through continuous collaboration with partner airports, the Public Administration, the hotel industry and local tourism organizations in order to enhance existing incentives on the islands and make them a destination more attractive to airlines. Wilson indicates that they intend to open bases in Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and La Palma in the future. With this last island it launched a line this summer with three national routes and two weekly connections from Milan-Bergamo. Although they stopped operating in October, the company does not rule out resuming that offer.
reopening
Ryanair had to close bases in the Canary Islands in early 2020 due to delays in the delivery of its Boeing aircraft order. There a dispute was generated with the dismissed workers. Wilson says that he has settled everything with them. However, the flight manager of the USO Air Sector, Ernesto Iglesias, in statements to Europa Press, stresses that the company “does not respect labor rights.” The union points out that “it owes eight million euros for compensation, processing wages and Social Security for the ERE declared void by the National Court.”
