The Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has made history. The North Dock of the chicharrera facility, Next to the old Jet-Foil station, it has hosted this Monday, January 31, the landing of a seaplane, in a day of tests of this mode of transport, which wants to become one more alternative to connect the Islands. The company Surcar Airlines, with the collaboration of the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, has begun to make his project a reality, with which he seeks to enable canaries to move between the islands also by seaplane. The company’s forecast is that, once the tests have been passed and all the permits have been obtained, the “flying boats” will start operating from this autumn, specifically, from October, uniting, in principle, Santa Cruz de Tenerife with La Palma and with Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
After 65 years since the last passenger seaplane took off from the Port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria bound for Southampton, the waters and the sky of the Archipelago have once again become the scene of this so-called “flying boat”. The intention of the entity is that it can be flown again by seaplane, as it was done from Gran Canaria at the time. For Tenerife it would be his first time. The company intends to have flights every day of the week, from Monday to Sunday. This new transport will be aimed at a consumer niche focused on the business traveler, although anyone who wants it can use it, as the company’s spokesman, Miguel Ángel González, explained to EL DÍA during the tests carried out this Monday, in which were attended by the president of the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Carlos González, and the director of Surcar Airlines, Gerardo Morales, among other authorities. Likewise, and according to the company’s spokesperson, tourist routes will be established during the weekends. It is estimated that it is used by around 15,000 passengers a year.
With regard to prices, the spokesperson for Surcar Airlines pointed out that they have not yet been established, but, “obviously, their cost will be somewhat higher than that of a plane ticket, since each seaplane has only 16 seats”, and each passenger will be able to carry about six kilos of luggage. Miguel Ángel González stressed that the transfer between islands will be faster than in other transport, “because we are talking, for example, of only about 30 minutes between Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria”. In addition, “security controls will be more agile and passengers will avoid traveling to the airport, which will mean savings of up to 30% in emissions.” Regarding the final location of the area where passengers will embark and disembark at Puerto chicharrero, the company’s spokesperson said that it is still being studied. Two areas are being considered: in the North Dock (former Jet Foil station) or in the South Dock, next to the cruise ships.
Surcar Airlines made the first ditching of its seaplane this Monday in Puerto chicharrero before numerous authorities and also before numerous onlookers. First thing in the morning, the Port Authority and the company’s Board welcomed the pilot, Ulrik Nielsen, who, barefoot and in shorts, but wearing a jacket so as not to break protocol too much, stated that “it has been an experience fantastic to fly over this beautiful landscape and calm wind”. After carrying out several demonstrations of the operational capabilities and “dry” braking of this ship, the flying boat took off for La Palma. This Thursday it is scheduled to also carry out several tests in the Port of Las Palmas.
“Its cost will be somewhat higher than that of a plane ticket since there are only 16 seats,” they say.
The president of the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Carlos González, assured that this new form of transport, which “will be based in Tenerife, will mean an improvement in the connectivity of the Islands”. “It will be a very attractive means of transport both for work trips and for weekend vacations, as travel times will be shortened,” he commented. González admitted that when the company informed him of its intention to recover the seaplanes in the Canary Islands, “we were concerned that this means of transport could interfere with the security of the Port’s operations, but today we have seen that there is no problem.” “From here, other security issues related to airspace will have to be resolved,” he added.
The director of Surcar Airlines, Gerardo Morales, pointed out that the company’s objective is to promote the use of the seaplane on short routes, taking up the history of aviation 65 years later, with a modern version of a romantic, agile and safe form of transport. , which “will bring the canaries even closer”. Regarding the necessary authorizations, Morales explained that in order to launch this initiative it is necessary to complete a “very complex puzzle.” “Today these demonstration flights are being carried out as part of the process of obtaining authorizations, so we hope to be able to operate commercially and on a regular basis within not long.”
The company’s spokesperson, Miguel Ángel González, added that the return of the seaplane to the Canary Islands “represents a milestone for the Archipelago and for the European transport industry.” «We must take into account that the Canary Islands will be the only place in Spain where this transport exists and the second in Europe, after Denmark. We want to improve the connectivity, social cohesion and development of the islands, as has been demonstrated in cities such as Copenhagen, Vancouver or Seattle, where seaplanes have been important agents of the regional transport system for more than 30 years, “he said. .
He insisted that “today is a historic moment, but not only for the Canary Islands, but also for all of Spain, since we are the first seaplane company in this country.” «The Archipelago is very well connected and, therefore, what we intend is to be just one more link in the chain of connectivity of the Islands. With the seaplanes we will connect the cities from port to port, shortening the times; passengers will be able to move, for example, from the Plaza de España to the Parque de Santa Catalina in just half an hour. This is, without a doubt, a very exciting project for the entire company team”, declared the spokesperson. Finally, he mentioned the “special support we have received from the port authorities who, at all times, have shown their commitment to this initiative.”
With majority Canarian capital, Surcar Airlines is a company authorized by the ZEC (Canarian Special Zone) and created with the participation of Nordic Seaplanes, the only operator in Europe with a regular line in Denmark. The launch of Surcar is accompanied by a new regulation for this type of activity by the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) and a technical report commissioned from INTA (a body belonging to the Ministry of Defence), in which the use of passenger seaplanes in the ports of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, according to the company. This indicates that all the necessary permits are being obtained to start operating in October.
Fredrik Groth’s Dream
The big day, that of the seaplane tests in the Port of Santa Cruz, could not be celebrated without him. A photo on a lectern, in the old Jet Foil station and taking part in the act, showed his smiling face. And it is that, although he has already left, somehow he also had to be present in this historic act. Fredrik Groth was one of the main promoters of the dream of the Surcar Airlines company, but shortly before it began to become a reality, cancer took him away. | ER
