Tenerife South Airport has become a bottleneck for tourist buses, with accumulations exceeding half an hour in parking lot departures. Associations in the discretionary transport sector directly attribute this situation to the new regulations imposed by Aena, which they consider improvised and revenue-oriented.
The controversy centers on the new fee that the airport operator charges discretionary transport buses for operating at Canary Islands airports, affecting vehicles that transfer tourists between terminals and accommodation. This measure came into effect on June 1st in Tenerife South and Lanzarote after a transitional period due to sector rejection.
The most disruptive change is the new parking protocol: buses can no longer wait inside the premises but must wait outside in a designated area until the tour guide signals that the group is complete. However, the pick-up zone only has about thirty spaces, insufficient for the 85 to 90 buses operating during peak hours, according to the federation.
Transport operators complain that the first passengers now wait up to 30 minutes in the sun, time they previously spent comfortably inside the bus. Added to this are passport checks, which can extend for an additional 90 to 120 minutes for flights from outside Schengen. The rigidity of the system in the face of an airport's operational reality is questioned.
The sector is demanding that Aena provide free waiting areas proportional to the airport's visitor volume, create shaded shelters in waiting zones, and provide dignified spaces for drivers, arguing that the current planning is solely aimed at "making money."
