New call for 20 routes via Canary Islands Flight Development Fund
The funds available for each of the routes is listed above
The Canary Islands have launched a route incentive package calling for bids for 20 new routes, via the Flight Development Fund (FDF), with the intention of continuing to improve the air connectivity of the islands and boosting the diversity of its tourism markets and clients.
The total maximum budget for the call is of 3.2 million euros.
The routes open for bidding aim to connect the islands with markets like Austria (1), Slovakia (2), United States (1), France (1) Italy (4), Poland (1), Portugal (1), United Kingdom (3), Rumania (1), Russia (3) and Switzerland (2).
The proposed routes were selected after an analysis of strategic interest, potential viability, and a lack of existing connectivity.
“We hope that the incentives act as a final push for airlines that are considering a wide range of options that may already include Canary Islands destinations”.
The Flight Development Fund was approved in April 2014 after an intense period of negotiation between the Canary Islands Government and the European Commission. The result included modifications to the European Aviation Guidelines granting important exemptions to the Canary Islands due to their position as an ultra-peripheral region of Europe.
The changes allowed the Canary Islands to offer incentives for the creation of new aviation routes and granted an important concession removing the limit on the maximum number of passengers using Canarian airports.
In addition, it should be remembered that there are still other routes that have not yet been covered by the previous calls (April 2017). These calls will remain open indefinitely, which is an opportunity for airlines to have them present in their decision committees. It should be noted that not all of them have the same planning periods and that some of them need up to 2 years in advance, so that very short deadlines are not efficient in this context.
The Flight Development Fund is just part of the effort that Promotur Turismo de Canarias makes to improve flight connectivity to the Canaries. It also includes attending international aviation events and constant dialogue with airlines aimed at keeping them informed about the destination.
Promotur puts its Brand Centre at the disposal of airlines, with a huge range of promotional material and resources available for use, and carries out inspiring marketing actions aimed at boosting interest amongst the public in places with direct flight connections to the Canary Islands.
Furthermore, there is constant communication with AENA and the Spanish Government aimed at obtaining more competitive fees for Canarian airports to offset the extra cost associated with the geographical distance and fragmentation of the islands.
As a result of all this work, Turismo de Canarias has been awarded last year with the two most important international awards in the field of air connectivity: the best European destination (Routes Europe, April 2017, Belfast) and the best destination in the world attracting air routes (World Routes, September 2017, Barcelona). This year 2018, Canarias is once again nominated as the best European destination for the next edition of Routes Europe to be held in the city of Bilbao between April 20-22.
More information:
http://turismodeislascanarias.com/en/flight-development-fund/