Canary Islands holidaymakers may soon see a change after fury has hit boiling point at the litter-strewn state of the sun-kissed hotspots’ several airports. Months of visible neglect at Tenerife South, Tenerife North, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, and El Hierro airports has been caused by gardeners going without pay for nine months.
Locals and visitors alike have ranted about the shocking state of the airports and their once green spaces, with bits of dead trees, empty plastic bottles and food wrappers littering the sites and roads. But now Spain’s airport authority AENA has finally awarded a new annual £650,000-a-year gardening and landscaping contract to Translimp Contract Ser.
Translimp has also offered to address the unpaid wages left behind by the previous contractor, Amena Hispánica, which failed to pay staff for up to five months before AENA terminated its contract in January for repeated breaches.
In recent months, arriving and departing Canary Islands’ passengers were met with scenes of abandoned gardens, dead plants and unpruned trees creating both an eyesore and a safety hazard in strong winds.
The situation drew criticism from unions and tourism representatives, who warned that the poor state of the airports’ surroundings harmed the image of the Canary Islands as a world-class holiday destination.
Many workers went on long-term sick leave due to stress and depression, while Amena Hispánica attempted to impose a chaotic redundancy process.
Now the new contract is expected to restore the airports’ green areas and finally bring an end to a dispute that has lasted nearly a year.
“Once all necessary procedures are completed, the new company will commence operations,” AENA has promised.
Earlier this month the state of Lanzarote’s airport prompted the Mayor of the local town of San Bartolomé contacted AENA to offer the council’s provisional assistance in cleaning and tidying the grounds.
San Bartolomé offered to lend a council team to carry out tidying duties at César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport until the contract was awarded.
Mayor Isidro Pérez said: “César Manrique Airport is the main gateway of Lanzarote and we want to contribute to ensuring that its environment is in the best possible condition, because the image that is currently being given cannot be allowed to continue.”
