The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, has assessed the decision of the company Ryanair to reduce some of its operations in the Canary Islands, emphasizing that the impact on the island of Lanzarote will be very limited.
According to the data, Lanzarote will go from having 135 weekly flights in the past winter season to 131 this winter, which represents a reduction of only four weekly flights.
In terms of routes, Ryanair goes from 40 connections to 35, eliminating routes such as Marseille, Luton, Turin, Barcelona and the African Dakhla. However, a new connection with Alicante is incorporated and frequencies are increased on several routes with the Peninsula, which largely compensates for the incidence.
“The real effect on Lanzarote is practically insignificant, both in terms of flights and connectivity. This is a pressure measure that the company historically maintains with the Spanish State, linked to AENA rates and disputes with competition and consumer agencies,” Betancort stressed.
The president recalled that, although “no tourist is unwelcome and we should never be happy about the reduction of routes”, the Cabildo is working to strengthen Lanzarote's air connectivity with companies of greater strategic value and profitability for the destination, such as British Airways, Iberia or North American airlines.
“Our objective is to diversify markets and attract a visitor profile that increases the average spending at the destination, which means greater wealth for the island and more sustainable tourism over time,” added Betancort.
