The regular air connectivity scheduled for the next winter season indicates that there will be 2,422 weekly flights to the Canary Islands, 189 more than in 2022, according to the Tourism Intelligence, Planning and Connectivity Service of Turismo Islas Canarias.
The increase in demand is greater compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, since in a typical week in November, which is the one that has been taken as a reference, there were up to 557 fewer arrival operations to the islands than those planned for the next winter campaign, details the Ministry of Tourism in a note.
However, Minister Yaiza Castilla warns that when comparing with 2019, the effect of the bankruptcy of the tourism giant Thomas Cook must be taken into account, which had an offer of 800,000 places per year, and which left a gap in connectivity with the Canary Islands at the beginning of the winter season of that year.
In addition, in that year the effects of the disappearance in February of the company Germania, which operated with the islands some 400,000 seats, were also noticed.
Castilla clarifies that "although we must take the already known air schedule for the winter with caution, as it may vary given the uncertainties that persist at a socioeconomic level in Europe and in the world, it is clear that we are talking about very good figures that give an idea of the high confidence that exists in the Canary Islands in the tourism market."
This confidence in the destination causes airlines to reinforce their commitment to the islands in months in which, in addition, "we continue to be leaders not only for our well-known natural and climatological attributes, but also because importance continues to be given in the choice of a destination to issues such as security, trust and European service standards", adds Castilla.
The archipelago's first market, the United Kingdom, is also the one that increases the number of flights the most
Likewise, the minister points out that in the European environment "more and more weight is being given" to sustainability and when betting on sun and beach destinations such as the Canary Islands, those of medium distance (4 or 5 hours by plane) that generate a smaller carbon footprint are prioritized.
By countries, the United Kingdom not only remains the main issuing country for next winter, but also shows the greatest growth in its regular connectivity with the Canary Islands.
Thus, in a typical week of next November, 749 flights have already been counted compared to 627 in the same typical week of November 2022 or 509 operations in 2019.
As the second foreign issuing market are the Germans, with 425 connections with the islands per week, 11 more than last November and 101 more than in the same week of November 2019.
Regarding the third issuing market in importance, the national one, regular air connectivity is also one of those with the greatest forecast for growth for the winter, going from 557 flights per week in November 2022 to 672 for the same month of 2023. There are 115 more connections per week and 185 more than in the same typical week of November 2019.
