Storm Hits Canary Islands: Wind and Swell Cause Flight Disruptions

A new storm has brought strong winds and high seas, leading to significant air traffic disruptions and activating weather alerts across several islands.

Generic image of strong waves and wind on the Canary Islands coast.
IA

Generic image of strong waves and wind on the Canary Islands coast.

A new storm has impacted the Canary Islands, bringing strong winds and high seas that resulted in nine flight cancellations and fourteen diversions across five airports on Thursday.

The wind has been the main feature of this storm, with gusts reaching 98 km/h in Izaña. This meteorological situation has caused significant disruptions to air travel, affecting several airports throughout the archipelago.
Difficulties in landing at Fuerteventura forced four flights from Madrid, Seville, Warsaw, and Birmingham to be diverted to Tenerife South, and two flights to Gran Canaria, two to Tenerife North, and one to Amsterdam were cancelled. In Lanzarote, there were four diversions and one cancellation, while in Gran Canaria, two flights were cancelled and three were diverted, including one from Paris bound for Fuerteventura. Finally, La Gomera experienced a flight cancellation to Tenerife North, and Tenerife North diverted a flight from Barcelona to Tenerife South.
In response, the regional government has declared a coastal phenomena alert for the north and west of La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura, anticipating combined northwest seas of 5 to 6 meters. The rest of the archipelago remains on pre-alert. Additionally, a wind pre-alert has been issued for all the Canary Islands.
The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has activated yellow warnings for wind and swell for the coming days. For Friday, maximum gusts of 70 km/h are expected in the peaks and mid-slopes of La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro, as well as high seas on the east, south, and west of Tenerife. On Saturday, wind warnings will extend to La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria, with forecasts of light to moderate rainfall on the mountainous and eastern islands.