A severe sandstorm from the Sahara has blanketed Spain's Canary Islands, causing widespread flight cancellations and leaving thousands of tourists stranded, including many from the UK. Airport operator Aena cancelled, suspended or diverted all flights to and from the islands over the weekend due to low visibility. Operations resumed on Sunday at all airports except Tenerife South.
The regional government has issued an alert advising residents and visitors to stay indoors and avoid travel. Spain's national weather service forecast winds of up to 120km/h (75mph) until Monday. The sandstorm, visible from space, has also hampered ferry services and efforts to tackle wildfires on Gran Canaria.
British tourist Alison Lagier from Rhondda, south Wales, was due to fly back to Cardiff from Gran Canaria on Saturday. She told BBC Radio Wales there had been little communication and that passengers had not been provided with food vouchers or drinks. 'I'm really worried about things like there's people who've got medication in their cases - none of us has had our cases since Friday,' she said. 'There's people who are running out of insulin. It's really difficult there at the moment.'
Firefighters are battling wildfires in Gran Canaria and Tenerife, where temperatures have exceeded 30°C. In south-west Gran Canaria, blazes have scorched around 300 hectares, forcing the evacuation of 500 people. On Tenerife, about 1,000 locals and tourists were evacuated as a precaution. Pedro Marin, head of Tenerife's local government, described the situation as 'completely unusual'.
Spanish Transport Minister José Luis Ábalos thanked neighbouring countries for their solidarity. Aena advised passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline. A British Airways spokeswoman said the airline was in regular contact with customers and hoped to get them on their way on Monday.
