Flights to the Canary Islands increase by 24% this winter compared to 2019

The increase in connectivity in the archipelago this winter is the largest of all the autonomous communities

EKN

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EKN

October 25 2023 (19:23 WEST)
Updated in October 26 2023 (10:05 WEST)
Planes at Lanzarote Airport.
Planes at Lanzarote Airport.

The Airline Association (ALA), the leading organization in the sector in Spain that brings together 85% of air traffic, announced that forecasts for this winter indicate that there will be 24.1% more air seats with the Canary Islands.

The Canary Islands data presents the largest increase in the country. Next is Andalusia, where the increase in air seats amounts to 20.4%.

At the national level, the increase is 12.8% above the 2018/2019 winter season, which anticipates the consolidation of the recovery in 2023 with the possibility of breaking the air traffic record.

The constant growth path of air traffic maintained in 2023 has made it possible to overcome the pre-pandemic barrier, achieving figures above 2019 levels, with a passenger growth percentage of 1.3% so far this year (up to and including September). The summer has behaved very well, exceeding passengers by 1.2% compared to the pre-pandemic summer campaign.

The data for the winter season invite optimism and anticipate a record year. Currently there are 127 million seats scheduled to operate in Spain, which is almost 13% more than those flown in the 2018/2019 winter season.

 

Concern about the uncertainties of the international panorama

Despite these good figures, the feeling in the aviation sector is one of "moderate optimism" due to uncertainties in the geopolitical and economic sphere that overshadow the horizon.

In this sense, the evolution of the war between Israel and Hamas may push up the price of oil, which is already very strained, and with it the cost of fuel, in addition to the inflationary trend, the upward evolution of interest rates, without forgetting the war in Ukraine, factors that may condition demand.

“For the moment, air traffic is behaving very well and the figures are demonstrating passengers' desire to travel. We are facing the final stretch of the year with the expectation that 2023 will be the year of consolidation of the recovery, with figures even above 2019, which was a record year for passengers. If we maintain this positive rate we will exceed those records, says the top representative of ALA.

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