Flight delays and diversions in Lanzarote amid haze warnings

A Sahara dust cloud has caused various flights from the UK inbound to Lanzarote to be diverted

Flights to Lanzarote airport have been diverted thanks to dusty winds across the Canary Islands (Getty Images)

Flights are disrupted to and from Lanzarote Airport after haze and ‘calima’ swept onto the island, local news reports.

Arrivals and departure flights from Lanzarote were delayed after severe weather obstructed the visibility of Spain’s Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa.

Data from FlightRadar shows that a significant number of arrivals have been delayed, most of them by around an hour, in landing at Lanzarote’s airport, while some afternoon departures were also delayed by around an hour on Monday, 19 August.

Aena, a Spanish airport authority that operates Lanzarote’s airport, confirmed to The Independent that 12 flights, including arrivals from Leeds, Birmingham, and Dublin, as well as domestic flights from Madrid, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife, were diverted mostly to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands.

“This morning, due to low visibility at César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport, 12 flights landed at other airports, mostly at Fuerteventura Airport,” a spokesperson said, adding that later on, flights started to land as normal.

Flights including Ryanair and Air Lingus planes travelling from Dublin to the island were diverted to Fuerteventura, landing at 10.40am.

Tui and Jet2 flights that departed from Leeds and Birmingham were also diverted to Fuerternventua, while other airlines that were coming from elsewhere than the UK were diverted to Gran Canaria Airport and Tenerife North Airport, FlightRadar shows.

The diversions appear to have stopped around midday, but disruptions and delays persisted into the afternoon.

Since 5pm GMT, most flights have landed on time or with minor delays, and departures also appear to be doing the same.

The disruptions and delays were thought to be caused by a warning of haze and calima, which is when fine sand and dust particles are lifted into the atmosphere from the Sahara Desert, causing a reduction in visibility and high temperatures.

A dust suspension weather warning was activated by AEMET, the Spanish meteorological agency, and pre-alerts for storms, strong winds and dangerous sea conditions were put in place for the islands

All arrivals were momentarily suspended until visibility later improved, the outlet said.

Air traffic controllers at Lanzarote Cesar Manrique Airport said that due to “visibility problems” some aircraft were being sent to “alternative airports for safety reasons,” according to The Olive Press.

Visibility was reduced to less than 900m until conditions started to improve after a couple of hours, and flight activity appeared to resume.

The Independent has contacted Aena for comment and further information.

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast