Saharan Sandstorm Shuts Down 8 Canary Islands Airports, Disrupts Flights

The strong winds laden with sand have led to the closure of eight airports located in the Canary Islands on Sunday, reports Le Parisien. According to an spokesperson, visibility is very low. As a result, planes that were supposed to land on the islands have been diverted to mainland Spain.

These disturbances had already been observed the previous Saturday. Thus, all flights to and from Gran Canaria and all those leaving the two airports of Tenerife (north and south) were suspended. And for good reason, the violent winds laden with sand dust from the Sahara, which drastically reduced the pilots’ visibility on these islands off the coast of Morocco.

The Norwegian shipping company Fred. Olsen & Co., for its part, suspended its ferry service between the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, and between San Sebastian and Valle Gran Rey on the island of Gomera, on Sunday, "until further notice", due to the bad weather.