Almost 1.5 million passengers embarked or disembarked at the port of Los Cristianos in 2021, which is 420,000 more than the previous year, when the pandemic hit, and 265,000 less than in 2019. However, what has increased is the number of vehicles travelling between the western islands on ferries, which is what is causing the problem and gridlock in the area around the port.
Last year, with the pull of the volcanic eruption in La Palma, a record 475,000 vehicles passed through Los Cristianos, a number that the town doesn’t have the infrastructure to cope with, which is why there are so many traffic problems when the ferries arrive.
Los Cristianos is among the ports with the highest number of passenger movement in the whole of Spain, according to Javier Mora, director of the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, who underlined the growth in demand to travel to La Palma in recent years, where numbers have doubled, although La Gomera still has the highest number of travellers to and from Los Cristianos.
Mora acknowledges that the current conditions offered by the port of Los Cristianos "are not the best", but stresses that the figures for passenger and vehicle movements "give an idea of the true dimension” of an infrastructure under increasing pressure due to the increase in demand, proven by the increased number of sailings by Fred Olsen and Armas.
This presents other problems to the coordination and logistics of embarking and disembarking in shorter periods of time, as the increased traffic has made the esplanades too small for foot passengers, as is the room for parking for the volume of cars, trucks, and coaches waiting to get on the ferries.
Mora highlighted the "great effort" of the operators so that the port functions in the best possible conditions: "You have to see for yourself what it is like when all the boarding lines are full, and they have to disembark before refilling the ships as quickly as possible. It’s an impressive operation" In addition, he reminded that the port area hosts other activities, such as fishing and excursions that move around 300,000 people a year.
The main problem is that the port is operating at recommendations approved over 30 years ago in 1991, when an expansion program was agreed, but the port still basically covers the same space as when the route with La Gomera was first started in the 1970s.
Waiting to learn the results of a study commissioned by the Canary Islands Government that will determine where the solution that guarantees the future of maritime communications between Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro lies, the director of the Port Authority highlighted different works that have taken place including the remodelling of the inner dock that the Fred Olsen ramp occupies, the reorganization of the access to facilitate vehicle traffic, the installation of pontoons, and the construction of the second dock that Armas use.
FUTURE TRAFFIC AND CRUISE SHIPS:
Mora believes that the port of Los Cristianos can cope with the current volume of traffic, but he is cautious about the medium and long term if these numbers increase due to promotion of the destination by Turismo.
"Perhaps as a result of the Government’s study we will have to adopt a series of measures to facilitate accessing and departing the port, or contemplate a solution beyond the port of Los Cristianos, because there is already huge traffic congestion through the town and on the TF-1 motorway.”
Regarding the possibility of small and medium-sized cruise ships docking in the port, he stressed that there are already ships that anchor outside and transfer their passengers to land in boats. “They don't fit inside because of their size and because there isn't enough time or space for them to remain docked for several hours,” he said.
