Intense fog causes flight disruptions at Lanzarote Airport

Dense fog has descended over the Canary Islands which caused flight disruptions at Lanzarote airport yesterday (Saturday), where 12 international flights could not land and were diverted to Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria.

The first two flights of the morning, an Iberia flight bound for Madrid and a Vueling flight bound for Barcelona, were unable to take off until nearly 10am after being delayed for almost three hours.

After that time, the situation at César Manrique Airport began to normalise, with initially diverted planes returning and four planes circled over Lanzarote, waiting for the fog to dissipate enough for them to land.

At its peak, visibility was barely 200 metres, rendering take-offs and landings impossible. Aviation safety regulations typically require a minimum visibility of around 1,000 metres at Lanzarote Airport.

This morning (Sunday), Tenerife has awoken to the same fog over the south of the island. At the time of publication, operations at the south airport are as normal with only minimal delays. However, this will change if visibility is reduced.

Fog in the south of Tenerife this morning