Storm Claudia has been causing chaos for flights in the Canary Islands, with dozens of cancellations or diversions in barely 48 hours. The Spanish archipelago continues to remain on high alert as the latest autumn storm sweeps across the islands, bringing with it heavy rain, strong winds and rough seas, as well as significant turbulence for aircraft trying to land.
Authorities announced on Wednesday (November 12) that weather warnings in place would be extended across the Canary Islands on Thursday, with an orange alert for rain and yellow alerts for wind, waves, and thunderstorms in place for all islands. AENA, the Spanish state-owned airport operator that manages all eight airports on the Canary Islands, told the Express that it has been plagued by flight diversions and cancellations due to the weather chaos. On Wednesday, La Palma Airport dealt with three cancellations and seven cancellations, while Gran Canaria Airport had seven diversions, including flights from Prague (PRG) to Tenerife South (TFS) and Helsinki (HEL) to Fuerteventura Airport (FUE).
CM-Lanzarote Airport (ACE), meanwhile, had three diversions, including from Gatwick Airport to Fuerteventura, and one cancellation from Madrid (MAD).
Thursday (November 13) has already seen a vast number of cancellations at La Palma Airport, including 16 with Tenerife North (TFN) and five with Gran Canaria (LPA). The most recent incident involved a Boeing 737 Max 8 TUI flight from Manchester (MAN) to La Palma, with the callsign TOM4DX, which departed the UK at around 6:30am this morning, being diverted to Tenerife South.
According to Flightradar24, the plane circled off the coast of La Palma for about half an hour before changing its course and heading for Tenerife, where it landed at 11:48am GMT.
The Express has contacted TUI for comment.
The chaos in the Canary Islands comes as Storm Claudia makes its way towards the UK, forcing the Met Office to issue rare amber weather warnings for England and Wales that could lead to “danger to life”. The warning comes into effect on Friday at 12 noon and will remain in place until 11:59pm, the Met Office stated.
According to the National Weather Agency, Storm Claudia is likely to bring heavy rain, leading to flooding and disruption on Friday (November 14).
The Met Office said: “Storm Claudia, previously named by the Spanish Meteorological Service, will bring rain that will become persistent and heavy during Friday. 40-60 mm of rain is expected widely across this region with some places seeing around 80 mm; these higher accumulations more probable across the East Midlands, and higher ground in Wales and western England. Impacts may be exacerbated by strong easterly winds, as well as thunderstorms later Friday afternoon and evening.”
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
