T e n e r i f e ’ s f a v o u r i t e b r i t i s h w e e k ly n e w s p a p e r Issue 715
5 August 2011 - 11 August 2011
www.canarianweekly.com
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No holiday chaos … despite the Express! Tourism Board accuses British newspaper of scaremongering over ‘airport strikes’ TOURISTS bound for Tenerife this month were reassured yesterday (Thursday) that their holidays were safe, despite a story in a British newspaper to the contrary. The Daily Express, which is also printed here on the Island, was accused of “scaremongering” by reporting a so-called three-day strike by Spanish air-traffic controllers, from 18th August. Thousands of UK holiday-makers will have been shocked by the paper’s front-page story under the banner headline HOLIDAY HELL TO LAST FOR A MONTH. Included in the main report of Holidays 4 U going bust was the ensuing travel chaos over “air and transport strikes across Europe, involving Air France workers and Spanish air traffic controllers”. A spokesperson for AENA, the Spanish airport authority, told Canarian Weekly: “This is ridiculous. We settled our differences with the unions back in March and no disruptions to flights have been planned, or even talked about.” Just one month ago, AENA President Juan Ignacio Lema claimed there was now “much greater margin for improvements” in the air con-
trollers” labour conditions, and said that any delays to flights would be the fault of airlines. It seems as though the Daily Express got its wires crossed yesterday because strike threats by the air traffic controllers in Spain (and the Canaries) actually took place a year ago and were resolved last March to everyone’s satisfaction. This point was reiterated by Aldolfo Betetta, Marketing Manager for Turismo de Tenerife (Tenerife Tourism), when Canarian Weekly brought the Daily Express report to his attention. A horrified Betetta, who contacted the newspaper seeking an immediate retraction, insisted it was not true and added: “We spend millions on promoting our Island to attract visitors, and a British newspaper can undo all our good work in just a few words. It’s simply scaremongering.” Like the mainland, Tenerife is heavily reliant on its tourist trade, and 2010 was an absolute nightmare for hoteliers, traders and tourists alike. It came in the form of the Iceland Ash Cloud disaster, ice and snow on British airport runways and wildcat strikes over here, which affected the Island one way or another. As if that were not enough, Heathrow was closed in De-
cember and again in February this year because there was insufficient equipment to clear the runways of snow and ice, which had sun-seeking British holiday-makers tearing their hair out again. On top of all that, in March the Spanish airport unions then threatened a series of one-day strikes at peak times - 22 in all - just when the tourist sector appeared to be recovering. Their arguments concerned the Spanish Government’s
plan to part-privatise AENA which, said the unions, would spark redundancies, affect their working conditions and lead to higher airport and flight charges. It really would have spelled chaos on a grand scale last year for hundreds of thousands of passengers flying from the UK to Spain and the Canary Islands. However, last-minute talks between the warring factions ended in peace and relieved Spanish Prime Minister
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said at the time: “It is good news and guarantees the movement of the public.” Daily Express Consumer Affairs Editor Dana Gloger, who wrote the story, told Canarian Weekly: “You’re right. "I picked up last year’s story by mistake - but it’s only a few words." Actually, it was four words on the front page of a national newspaper, and four lines on page 4,
highlighted in white type on a black background. Ms Gloger called back after discussing her blunder with someone at the Express and said: “I am not making a comment, and neither is the Express.” Too late! She should have checked her facts - and the date of the information before writing those damaging words for the front page of a fading newspaper, still read, though, by some two million people daily.