“There were instances of tension and I observed anxious faces when the flight captain indicated we would be redirected to another airport. Tenerife journalist Alexis Rojas was among the hundreds impacted by the diversion of 22 flights that were meant to arrive yesterday afternoon at Tenerife South airport, but were rerouted to other airfields on the Islands after a jet blocked the runway, necessitating a reorganisation of air traffic for an hour and a half.
As the founder and director of the production company Tourism Time, Rojas was returning from Dublin on a flight with the Irish national carrier Aer Lingus. The flight departed at 2:10 p.m., with a scheduled landing in Tenerife South at 6:20 p.m. “With just 20 minutes left until arrival, the captain abruptly announced an incident had occurred on the Reina Sofía runway, without providing further details, and that we would need to circle the Island until we received clearance to land,” he recalls.
“At that moment, I noticed several pale faces and a sense of worry due to the uncertainty. We had no idea what had transpired or how the situation would be resolved,” he explains. Ultimately, the captain informed them they would be landing at the alternate airport on the Island, Tenerife North, owing to the delay in clearing the Reina Sofía runway. Alexis Rojas clarified that the Aer Lingus aircraft landed at the La Laguna facility at approximately 6:50 p.m., 40 minutes later than planned.
The passengers, taken aback, remained on board. There was a point when, according to the island journalist, the captain mentioned considering the option to fly from Tenerife North to Tenerife South once the latter’s runway had reopened. Alexis Rojas thought it was a “crazy” concept. Indeed, shortly thereafter, the crew informed the passengers they would disembark and be transferred to Tenerife South via two buses. And that’s precisely what occurred.
“We disembarked, and the ground staff escorted us to the Los Rodeos terminal, but there we had to wait for about 20 minutes outside, despite the chilly weather.” The challenges did not end there. Rojas adds that they faced passport control before finally boarding the buses waiting outside the terminal for the journey to Reina Sofía. “A few passengers remained at Tenerife North because they were heading to Santa Cruz, not the South, meaning a subsequent trip from Granadilla to La Laguna awaited those expecting them at Reina Sofía. However, the majority boarded the buses.
Alexis Rojas points out that they were fortunate for two reasons: one, that the flight was operated by a national carrier – “imagine the chaos if it had been a budget airline” – and the other, that this plane was the first to be rerouted due to the jet incident. “Had it not been for that, it’s highly likely we would have been redirected to an airport on another island, rather than Tenerife North. “At least we had that bit of luck.”
The journalist then had to wait an additional 30 minutes for a taxi at the South airport after the bus ride, which took about an hour. He was also fortunate that his residence was quite close to Reina Sofía, in El Médano, along the coast of Granadilla de Abona. Nonetheless, he eventually reached home after 10:30 p.m., over four hours late. “There were bewildered individuals. I recall an elderly gentleman travelling alone who truly did not grasp what was happening. I requested assistance from the staff at Tenerife North airport for him,” he summarises, concluding that “it has been quite an ordeal.”
