We demand new and better air connections between La Palma and Tenerife South

Press Release La Palma Travel 

If we want visitors to come to the island even during this time,
we have to make it easier for them to get there 

El Paso 10/12/2017: Leading political representatives speak of a "safe island", that only 10% of the island is affected by the volcanic eruption and that La Palma is a secure destination, but how are visitors supposed to get to the safe regions if all direct flights have been cancelled?

In order to direct the flow of tourists to the beautiful island, the flight connection between La Palma and Tenerife South urgently needs to be optimised, which requires the right political measures. This requires the establishment of several daily flights between the airports of La Palma and Tenerife South to ensure the survival and economic development of the island.

Due to the massive loss of agricultural land in the Aridane Valley, island tourism is gaining importance as an economic factor and needs to be promoted more and better.

In every crisis we experience that the most important international airlines are the first to leave San Miguel de La Palma and cancel their flights or take their connections off the market altogether. And the same is happening now. Until the end of February 2022, flights from Germany were completely cancelled, and with them most of the accommodation bookings. The same applies to flights from the Netherlands, Switzerland and England.

Even the most loyal La Palma visitors who want to come to the island even in "difficult times", like now or during the coronavirus crisis, have practically no alternatives.

Ulrich Roth - Co-founder of La Palma Travel

The island's dependence on the direct flights of the major airlines is too great and causes overwhelming collateral damage with each new crisis.

La Palma is an individual destination: most visitors book their flights and accommodation on their own. But in times of crisis, for which we must always be prepared, there is no reasonable alternative to direct flights for them.

Travelling via Tenerife North today is too much of a challenge for most foreign visitors.

International flights arrive in Tenerife South, while inter-island flights depart from Tenerife North. Taxi rides are expensive, bus rides are made difficult by lack of language skills and are also very time-consuming.

The ferry service from Tenerife South is good and safe. However, many avoid this way as it takes most visitors more than 18-20 hours to travel from their home to their accommodation. In addition, luggage transport is problematic, especially for the elderly. In addition, there is an extra charge of about 300 euros for a round trip for 2 people. This makes this route unattractive, which is why the cost for foreign passengers should also be subsidised for the duration of the crisis.

A trip via Tenerife South with a direct flight connection to La Palma is the ideal solution for tourism on the isla bonita

This connection will tap into a huge potential of guests.

With 101 connections from 26 countries and more than 500 weekly flights, TFS is one of the best connected airports in Spain. 

So not only will La Palma be reconnected with recently lost flights that we have sorely missed (we are talking about the main connections like London, Stuttgart, Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, etc.), but there will also be new international connections with many different countries.

These include not only Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Denmark, but also Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine, Hungary, Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland, Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Morocco, Finland, as well as the very important Keflavík Airport in Iceland, which connects the European continent with the United States, Canada and Asia, and a large number of airports on the mainland.

The volcanic eruption has visibly put the island of La Palma on the world map

The immense damage and suffering that the population has to endure is enormous.

But we need to use our notoriety in the world to revive the island, and we would like to invite everyone to help us with their visit.

In the past, there have been connections from Tenerife South to La Palma. However, these failed because they were not adapted to the needs of travellers. In short, there were too few connections at the wrong time.

La Palma urgently needs a direct flight connection to Tenerife South with at least eight daily connections (4 outward and 4 return flights).

These connections should be spread throughout the day so that passengers arriving at TFS have enough time to check in their luggage and do not have to put up with long waiting times.

The connection will then be equally attractive for tourists and local airlines. Considering the catastrophic situation on La Palma, these flights should have an attractive pricing.

Unfortunately, the end of the volcanic eruption is currently unpredictable, we simply do not know what the near or distant future of our island will look like.

To wait and see does not help in this case, only action.

We, as tour operators, are not giving up on the island. And neither will our customers, if they can reach us....

We therefore demand the urgent establishment of at least eight daily connections (4 outward and 4 return flights) from Reína Sofía airport in the south of Tenerife to the island of San Miguel de La Palma, as well as a subsidised air and ferry fare for tourists as well.

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