"It has been badly received. We believe that if it is not absolutely necessary, which it is not, the extension of the opening hours of the Lanzarote airport should not take place". These are the words of the mayor of San Bartolomé, Marcial Martín, who has strongly rejected this increase in the operability of Guacimeta from the end of March. According to the mayor, the new night schedules "will have a serious impact on the rest and sleep of the residents of the municipality", especially those of Playa Honda and Güime.
For Marcial Martín, the Lanzarote airport already has a lot of traffic on Thursdays and Sundays, while the rest of the days it has a "normal" operability. His solution would be to increase traffic on these days and not extend the opening hours of Guacimeta. "People's rest is above any issue. That the airport closes from March at 2:00 a.m. and opens at 6:00 a.m., we don't think it's right, we don't agree and we don't understand it", Marcial Martín stressed.
The mayor has assured that the City Council has not received any notification from Aena about the extension of the airport's opening hours. "We found out through a page of a certain airline, which is selling flights with entry to the airport from 1:30 a.m. and departure at 6:00 a.m.", Marcial Martín insisted, [referring to the tickets that Ryanair is offering through its website->48271, as La Voz de Lanzarote reported last week.]
After learning of this news, which was published by lavozdelanzarote.com last Wednesday, the San Bartolomé City Council tried to verify it. "I was talking to the director of Aena in the Canary Islands, Juan José Álvarez, and he told us", the mayor confirmed.
From the San Bartolomé City Council, however, they will send a letter to Aena this Monday asking for confirmation or not of this extension of opening hours. In addition, they will demand explanations "in the face of the disturbance of the rest of the citizens of Playa Honda and Güime".
More important problems
For the mayor of San Bartolomé, the airport of Guacimeta already has enough problems to think now about extending its night opening hours. "The Master Plan, which is absolutely necessary, has not been approved. The issue of the extension of the runway, the adaptation of the terminals and the modernization of the instrumentation of the airport is on the table. Now, there is another problem and it is the deviation of the VOR system, an aircraft approach instrument, which has forced the cancellation or diversion of aircraft in October and November. This is what needs to be solved", Marcial Martín defended.
In this sense, he has assured that he does not explain why there is talk of environmental impact studies for the extension of the runway and, however, there are no reports on how this new schedule will affect the neighbors who live near the aerodrome. "People have the right to rest. A measure is being taken without any type of study on the disturbance in the rest of these people", Marcial Martín denounced.
RELATED NEWS
[Ryanair sells flights that would force the Lanzarote airport to open at dawn from the month of March->48271]