Flights from Miami to the Canary Islands
05/09/10 00:30
The Spanish owned Air Europa airline now has weekly nonstop flights from Miami International Airport to Tenerife's North Airport. The service will bring even more visitors to explore the beauties of the seven islands in the archipelago.
It is estimated that around 300,000 Floridians are of Canary Islands’ descent.
Air Europa will have a new five times weekly non-stop flights operating every day, except Saturday and Tuesday.
www.thecanaryislander.com
No more striking air traffic controllers!
04/09/10 10:08
The Canary Islands’ La Gomera's airport now enjoys the privilege of becoming the first state run airport in Spain to operate without air traffic controllers.
From August, aircraft taking off and landing on La Gomera have been guided by AFIS - Aerodrome Flight Information Service. This system is now used all over the world by airports that are not busy enough to warrant full air traffic control.
Specially licensed Flight Safety Information Officers use AFIS to advise the taxiing aircraft of other aircraft flying in the area, together with details of local weather and general conditions. The system is far cheaper to run than a team of air traffic controllers, especially in Spain where air traffic controllers command the top salaries in the county.
This new system will shortly replace controllers at the country's twelve smallest airports. La Gomera, with its two daily flights to Tenerife, previously employed five air traffic controllers.
www.thecanaryislander.com
The Queen to name new Cunard ship
02/09/10 09:13
The naming ceremony will take place in Southampton on October 11, before the 2,092-passenger ship sets sail on the maiden voyage - a 13-night cruise to the Canary Islands - the next day.
It is the third Cunard ship to bear her name. The Queen also launched the line’s Queen Elizabeth II in 1967, and named Cunard’s current flagship, Queen Mary II, in 2004.
The Queen also attended the naming ceremony for Cunard's original Queen Elizabeth, launched in Clydebank, Scotland in 1938.
www.thecanaryislander.com
Snakes like the Canary Islands too!
01/09/10 17:25
The Canary Islands government is on the lookout for predatory snakes. The uncontrolled proliferation of snakes has become a problem for the biological fauna of the islands. Despite preventive measures taken three years ago by the island authorities, which prohibit the marketing of exotic animals such as the tarantula, monkeys and snakes, the Canary Islands suffer today from excessive reproduction of the species, released by negligent snake owners.
Previously no snakes existed on the Canary Islands and now there are hundreds. Fortunately, these reptiles are not dangerous to humans. They are not venomous, they don’t attack people and their fangs are no larger than those of a mouse. Nevertheless, they are a problem for the Canaries environment as they eat lizards, geckos, eggs and chicks of native birds, who are defenseless against a species, which they are not adapted to fight.
www.thecanaryislander.com
Moscow Street Cleaners Rewarded with Holidays in the Canary Islands
31/08/10 07:42
Moscow city authorities have rewarded the capital's best street cleaners with holidays in the Canary Islands.
The street cleaners won an annual competition held by the city administration for making the best improvements to their local area.
The contest is held annually and results are usually announced ahead of Moscow's City Day on the first weekend in September.
Twenty-one street cleaners will be sent on holidays to the Canary Islands, and twelve administration officials will holiday in the Czech Republic. $ 130,000 has been allocated to fund these incentive holidays.
www.thecanaryislander.com
Olive Oil Production in the Canary Islands
27/08/10 13:25
The General Director of Agriculture for the Government of the Canary Islands recently visited experimental olive groves that were part of a pilot project that began in 2005 aimed at the eventual production of olive oil in the islands.
Five years after the implementation of the pilot program, the Canary Islands has amassed some 40,000 olive oil trees and has undergone 12 highly successful experiences in olive oil extraction. The product has been sold and consumed locally and boasts two highly sought after characteristics of extra virgin olive oil: smooth flavor and an intense aroma.
The program is now being carried out in other parts of the Canary Island archipelago such as Granadilla de Abona, Agüimes (Gran Canaria) and Fuerteventura. The initiative has received the Government’s full and continued support and promises to diversify the agricultural economies of the islands.
www.thecanaryislander.com
80 year old adventurer to make Atlantic crossing from the Canary Islands
23/08/10 16:52
Hot on the heels of Dutch teenager, Laura Dekker, who is attempting to sail solo around the world is 80 year old adventurer, Mr Smith and his crew, who will set sail from the Canary Islands in January, when their efforts will be aided by the trade winds. The epic voyage will end 2,800 miles away in the Bahamas. Emblazoned on the sail of the raft will be an 'elderly crossing' sign. The raft is made from 12-metre sections of piping.
The crew of the raft are embarking on the expedition following an advert placed by Mr Smith in The Daily Telegraph five years ago, which ran: “Fancy rafting across the Atlantic? Famous traveller requires 3 crew. Must be OAP. Serious adventurers only.”
As a result of the advert he will be joined by David Hildred, a 57 year old veteran yachtsman who idolised Mr Smith as a schoolboy; Robin Batchelor, a 61 year old hot air balloonist; and 56 year old seaman Andy Bainbridge, an old friend of Mr Smith.
Mr Smith, a former RAF pilot, is no stranger to adventure. In 1963 he became the first Briton to fly over the Alps in a hot air balloon, having led the Sunday Telegraph Balloon Safari in East Africa the previous year. He is the author of over 30 books and is an experienced film maker.
He dreamt up his latest expedition in 1952, making this the realisation of a lifelong ambition.
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Dutch Teenager Sails to Canary Islands on World Trip
23/08/10 16:47
A 14-year-old Dutch sailor, aiming to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world, is sailing in fine weather toward the Canary Islands.
www.thecanaryislander.com
Fewer boat people landing in the Canary Islands
20/08/10 22:49
August is traditionally the height of the Mediterranean’s migrant-trafficking season. However, there are now many thousands less dehydrated Africans and Asians arriving on the shores of the Canary Islands, southern Spain, Sicily and other Italian islands than in previous years.
Figures from the European Union’s border-security agency, Frontex, show that a mere 150 people reached Italy and Malta in the first quarter of this year, compared with 5,200 in the same period of 2009. Irregular migration to the Canary Islands, which was taking in tens of thousands of Africans a few years ago, has almost ground to a halt. In the first three months of 2010, just five people landed on these islands.
Part of the reason is that southern European governments have applied diplomacy and cash to the problem. In Spain, successive administrations have made deals with countries in north-west Africa that have pushed the migrants’ available ports of departure southward, making the journey to the Canary Islands even more dangerous and expensive.
www.thecanaryislander.com
Demand for flights to the Canary Islands
02/08/10 12:00
The Canary Islands are declared as a popular hotspot among British holiday-makers this summer by one popular airline.
Monarch says that demand for flights to the Canary Islands has risen by 40 per cent in the last year. The airline said the region is proving very popular with people from the UK because it is a “reliable sunshine destination”.
Monarch is expecting to carry 300,000 passengers overseas between July 22nd and August 8th, which are the first few weeks of the school summer holidays. Demand has increased as holiday-makers realise that now is a good time to take advantage of favourable currency exchange rates between the pound and the euro.
www.thecanaryislander.com