Sandstorm keeps the Canary Islands airports closed until at least Monday afternoon NOW

The airports in the Canary Islands remain the responsibility of the European Aviation Safety Organization, Eurocontrol, closed until 1 pm on Monday at least. A major sandstorm ravages the Spanish island group.

Monday will be the third consecutive day on which the airports are not fully operational for hours. Saturday it went on for several hours while Sunday the doors remained closed for most of the day.

Tourists who are stuck in Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Tenerife and Gran Canaria express their dissatisfaction on social media. Spanish air traffic control points out that the flying sand makes the situation extremely unsafe for pilots who want to take off or land.

The Spanish meteorological agency already took into account on Saturday that the sandstorm, caused by a large amount of sand and dust flying from the Sahara to the Spanish island group, would certainly continue until Monday.

Spanish island group also plagued by forest fires

According to Dutchman Willem Derksen, who lives in Gran Canaria, the sandstorm on Sunday seemed “worse than Saturday”, with wind speeds of 100 to 120 kilometers per hour. Residents are advised to keep windows and doors closed, while daily life is largely shut down.

In addition to the sandstorm, which is called ‘La Calima’ by the locals, Gran Canaria also has to deal with major forest fires. Hundreds of hectares of land went up in smoke in recent days.

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