La Palma Airport has carried out 74% of the scheduled operations during the volcanic eruption which has officially ended after 3 months

• The Airport has been operational for approximately 90% of the time that the eruptive episode lasted
• The personnel of the Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Service have collaborated in supporting the population and cleaning up ash in different areas of the island
• On January 1, an extraordinary incentive comes into force for outbound operations with origin La Palma and destination to the Peninsula, the Balearic Islands or to an international destination
• Aena and its employees donate 50,000 euros to World Central Kitchen for the people affected by the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja

La Palma Airport has operated 74% of the flights scheduled between September 19 and December 15, a period during which the volcanic eruption resulted in the emission of gases and ash. Of the 2,889 operations planned in those almost three months, 2,130 were carried out. 34% of the cancellations were produced by the operational closure of the Airport caused by the fall of volcanic ash and the other 66% when the airlines detected ash in the airspace.

La Palma Airport only had to close, therefore, 9 and a half days of the 88 that elapsed from the beginning of the eruption until the ash emission ceased.

However, the fall of volcanic ash on the airport facilities has forced a constant cleaning effort in which both the means of the Airport itself and those provided by other aerodromes of the Aena network in the Canary Islands have been used, as well as the resources made available by the administrations of La Palma.

“Safety has been our priority, as always, but we have worked to keep the Airport operational as long as possible, since we are aware of the importance it has for society and the island’s economy,” highlights the director of the Airport of La Palma, Felipe Sánchez, who also appreciates the “constant involvement” of the La Palma institutions during these weeks.

Airport and Aena staff, involved with the island

In addition to the work carried out to guarantee the operation of the Airport, the personnel of the Aena Rescue and Fire Fighting Service in La Palma have been involved in supporting the population directly affected by the eruption – evacuation, removal of belongings from the homes – and in the cleaning of volcanic ash in other areas of the island, such as the helisurface of the Insular Hospital.

In addition, Aena and its staff have donated 50,000 euros to the NGO World Central Kitchen, led by chef José Andrés, to finance the preparation of 4,000 Christmas menus for the population affected by the volcano. This donation is part of the Solidarity Payroll project and has been complemented by the volunteer work carried out by La Palma Airport workers to deliver the menus to the recipients.

Extraordinary incentive to recover air routes

In 2022 Aena will apply a new incentive to airlines operating at La Palma Airport in order to promote air traffic and promote the scheduling of routes and operations by airlines. Aena thus contributes to the recovery of activity on the island.

The new incentive will mean the elimination of the infrastructure use fee or passenger fee on outbound flights that take place from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, originating at La Palma Airport and with destination the Peninsula, the Balearic Islands or an international destination.

The incentive, which consists of companies receiving 100% reimbursement of the passenger fare on outbound flights, acts on the fare that the airlines transfer to passengers for the use of the infrastructure, which can help promote the activity at La Palma Airport.

Monitoring and coordination

The beginning of the eruption, on September 19, activated all the necessary mechanisms to deal with the situation. To do this, Aena contacted those responsible for airports in different parts of the world that had experienced similar episodes, such as those in Quito (Ecuador), Catania (Italy) and Miyazaki (Japan).

Likewise, Aena held internal meetings to coordinate and monitor the situation, during the first month on a daily and then weekly basis, in which the Operations management, the management of each of the affected airports and the Canarias Group management participated, in addition to those called as an emergency to address extraordinary incidents.

For her part, the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, visited La Palma Airport on November 8 to convey her support to the Aena staff and to learn in detail, from the hand of the airport manager and Enaire, the measures applied at the aerodrome facilities and in the island’s airspace to deal with the consequences of the volcano’s eruption.

December 25, 2021