The dense layer of sand in the air over the Canary Islands, caused by the calima from the Sahara, is set to get worse and cause possible flight delays due to low visibility at airports, according to AEMET forecasts and warnings from Air Traffic Controllers.
Late yesterday afternoon (Saturday) Controllers posted warnings and videos on Twitter that the haze had already caused delays over a two hour period, and that Gran Canaria was only operating on one runway due to visibility and wind direction, and in Tenerife the south airport had a visibility of just 1,500 metres.
Also the planes notably make a different noise when landing, with engines ‘roaring’ caused by the suspended dust as you can hear in this video taken by Air Traffic Controllers in Gran Canaria.
Así "oímos" 🧐 aterrizar el tráfico aéreo en #GranCanaria donde operamos con pista única a causa de la #calima en #Canarias. Demoras por seguridad. #SafetyFirst pic.twitter.com/rCG8ldQ52Z
— 😷Controladores Aéreos 🇪🇸 (@controladores) January 15, 2022
Currently, the Canary Islands are still at risk with an active yellow weather warning for haze and high winds that will remain in force until 11.59pm tonight, which is expected to be extended tomorrow with the arrival of more intense calima and, more than likely, a storm could cause a "muddy rain" in the Islands.
