Tenerife Property

The Irish low-cost carrier is to offer 32 services to the Canary Islands (Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife and Fuerteventura) from nine British airports this summer – with the routes being supported by discounts offered by the Canary Islands’ government. Thomas Cook, Britain’s second-largest tour operator, has claimed that Ryanair will receive a subsidy equivalent to at least 6.5 euros per passenger on the new routes.

Thomas Cook to leave Tenerife and the Canary Islands?

Thomas Cook has given warning it could pull out of the Canary Islands in a row over the “subsidies” it claims are being paid to Ryanair by local authorities.

Manny Fontenla-Novoa, chief executive of Thomas Cook, said in an interview with the trade publication Travel Weekly that “paying” Ryanair to fly to the islands was not the way to arrest falling visitor numbers and said that Thomas Cook might switch to selling more holidays in Turkey and Egypt.

A spokesman for Ryanair denied that the carrier received subsidies. “The discount scheme is available to all airlines that commit to growing traffic to the Canary Islands,” he said. “Instead of complaining, Thomas Cook should apply for the scheme, lower its fares and compete on price to grow its business – something it has never had to do in the Canary Islands.”