Ryanair will increase the number of flights from Palma to Barcelona, Cologne and other destinations. The airline presented its summer 2015 schedule for Palma de Mallorca airport, which includes 305 flights a week.
To celebrate the launch of the 2015 summer schedule from Palma Airport, Ryanair is selling 100,000 seats to fly across its European network at prices from 19.99 euros. These low fare seats are available for booking until midnight tonight, January 15, though only for flying in January, February and March. http://www.ryanair.com
Ryanair indicated they will increase the frequency of their connection flights from Palma to; Barcelona, Cologne, East Midlands and London Stansted airports during the coming summer season where they plan to offer up to 47 air routes.
In a statement, Ryanair revealed that they are confident of plans to enable them to transport a total of three million passengers and maintain 3,000 jobs at the Palma airport. Ryanair schedules routes mean a lot for airport cities as ACI research confirms up to 1,000 ‘on-site’ jobs are sustained at international airports for every 1m passengers.
Ryanair added that they will continue to connect Palma airport with some of the major business centers in Europe. Some of which include daily shuttles, for example; three daily flights to London, two daily flights to Manchester and a daily flight to Dublin.
The Chief Commercial Officer for Ryanair, David O’Brien, maintained that there is potential for growth in Palma airport, while appreciating there is competition from new markets. The low-cost airline has six aircraft based in Palma de Mallorca and travelers can choose routes to 15 countries.
On another Balearic destination that Ryanair’s representative stressed the carrier’s interest in is the Madrid-Mahon, Menorca airport route, but stressed that they can’t do anything because it’s declared a Public Service Obligation by the Spanish government. However he pointed out that Ryanair have shown that they are able to offer more profitable rates, so they are willing and ready to apply for it at the time the OSP is lifted.
Ryanair passenger can also now enjoy new services that have been gradually brought in such as that of; of assigned seating, a second piece of hand luggage free, reduced fares, a new website and mobile app with mobile boarding cards besides the ‘Family Extra’ and ‘Business Plus’ services. All these position Ryanair as the perfect choice for families, leisure and business travelers.
Following the launch of ‘Business Plus’, a product developed for Ryanair’s business passengers, Ryanair now offers business travelers the lowest rates and best service.
Everything changed for the king’s sister and her husband since the Nóos case began.
During the winter holidays, the Duke and Duchess decided to celebrate Christmas Eve with the family of Iñaki, later flying back with a low-cost carrier from Bilbao to Barcelona as published on Saturday by El Mundo.
Besides taking a low-cost flight, they were also transported to the inside of the airport in a van. Life is not what it was for the Duke and Duchess of Palma.
The couple decided to use the services of Vueling to fly to the Catalonian Capital, where their attorneys work tirelessly to find a loophole in the process taken by judge Castro.
The case against the Duke and Duchess looks set to take the father of the family to prison, any reduction of a sentence would be welcomed with joy at the home of the Duke and Duchess.
This week judge Castro lowered the bail for the Duke and on Friday the ‘Infanta’ (Princess Cristina) defense appealed the prosecution that would obligate her to sit directly in the dock at court.
Everything seems to have changed at the home of the Duke and Duchess of Palma, luxury has been put on hold and the waiting gets longer and longer before facing the court case against them. If using a low cost carrier isn’t a ploy to win public sympathy, it’s undoubtedly ended up reducing their high standard of living.
The culmination of four years of investigations that plunged the royal family into crisis and contributed to the abdication of King Juan Carlos in June is drawing to a close.
On two counts of being an accessory to tax fraud in connection with her husband’s business affairs, a court on the island of Majorca ordered Cristina, 49, to stand trial.
Her Husband Inaki Urdangarin, is accused of embezzling and laundering millions of euros in public funds. Princess Cristina is accused of taking part in the tax evasion of her husband.
Cristina sat on the board of Noos, a charitable foundation, and Urdangarin was its chairman. Urdangarin is accused along with a former business partner of leaching off six million euros ($8 million) in public funds from contracts awarded to Noos.
When questioned in court by Judge Castro in February, Cristina said she had no knowledge of her husband’s business affairs and had simply trusted him.
The King’s sister could now face up to eight years in prison if found guilty, while Iñaki Urdangarín faces a sentence of up to nineteen and a half years. The accused now have 30 days in which to present their defense, and in theory no further appeals are permitted.
Reacting to the decision, the Royal Household issued a statement expressing full support for the independent decisions of the Judge, and offered no further comment on the possibility that Cristina may formally renounce her right of succession to the throne. She is currently sixth in line behind her sister and her four nieces and nephews.
A passenger from a non EU flight was intercepted by customs officers on Sunday shortly after touching down at Mallorca airport. They were found to be carrying drugs in their body, which were later extracted in the Son Espases hospital, Palma.
Security officials had their suspicions confirmed shortly after detaining the passenger. The drug carrier housed inside their body 40 packages of cocaine, having a weight of 430 grams. They were arrested for a presumed crime against public health.
Later officers transferred the suspect to a department at Palma airport equipped to carry out X-ray examinations, which when taken fully confirmed suspicions. The operators found inside the suspect’s body a number of foreign bodies well-matched to packages of drugs.
The suspect was transferred by ambulance to the Son Espases hospital to have the drugs removed from the body that had previously been ingested.
If any packages of cocaine were broken during the procedure then the narcotic substance would have posed a serious risk to life. The drug ‘mule’ in question, presumably used by a network of drug traffickers to bring drugs in the body to Mallorca, was under the constant supervision of medical staff.
During the following two days the arrested individual remained in hospital eliminating any traces of the packages. Medical personnel administered laxatives to the subject to facilitate the removal of any residual foreign bodies.
Once the alleged drug trafficker was purged of narcotic substances and received a medical discharge, they were transferred to a prison cell remanded in custody.
Drug use in nightclubs in Palma de Mallorca is much higher during the Christmas season. Guardia Civil investigators suspect that this shipment of cocaine through the ‘drug mule’ could be in response to the “Christmas season” demand.
Business in the Exeter region has received a major boost with the news that Exeter airport is to host flights to some of the biggest continental holiday destinations.
It follows a change of heart by airline Flybe which had previously axed the routes. Flybe says flights to Alicante, Faro, Malaga and Palma airport will return in March.
The decision means holidaymakers will be able to fly directly from the West Country to the Mediterranean. Flights to and from Alicante, Faro, Malaga and Palma airport were going to be scrapped – but the airline now says they’ll be back in March.
Over the Christmas season Aena has increased the free internet access time, via Wi-Fi connection, in Palma airport and the other 27 Aena airports that offer this service.
That means the period of free access is doubled, going from the 15 minutes to 30 minutes. This offer will be valid in a first phase until January 15th on the Airport ‘Free Wi-Fi’ network.
To access this network passengers have to log on giving a valid email address to active the user time. Since January this year, passengers at the Aena airports have made 6.5 million free downloads.
The company that provides the Internet access via Wi-Fi is KubiWireless, integrated in the telecom operator Eurona Telecom Group.
Latvian offender was residing inside cars in the long stay car park.
Local police officers arrested a pickpocket in Palma airport of Latvian origin for violating a court order preventing approach to the Palmesano airport. The offender, 39, was shocked when apprehended after taking refuge inside a car in the long term parking enclosure.
The events began last Wednesday at Palma airport. Video surveillance cameras detected the presence of an individual who was taking refuge in parked cars on the sixth floor, the area reserved for long stays. Initial suspicions suggested it could be a familiar criminal face notorious for tourist theft.
Local police stepped up surveillance at this point to see if they could discover the person. The pickpocket soon appeared as they had in fact made their home in the Palmesano airport parking.
Officials found the pickpocket hidden inside a Mercedes after breaking a window. Local police then took them to the National Police station in Son Sant Joan airport. There they were detained after finding that they had broken a restraining order.
The judge had supposedly stopped this persistent pickpocket from coming close to the facilities of Palma’s airport. The restraining order was in force until December next year.
Palma has been replaced as the most popular international destination for travelers from Manchester Airport.
In the first nine months of this year exclusive analysis of all UK air traffic shows there have been 596,028 passengers between Manchester Airport and desert kingdom – Dubai Airports – up 21,901 on the same period last year.
Palma de Mallorca airport, which was number one last year, is down 16,031 to 583,400 passengers.
Tenerife (559,753) is third popular from Manchester airport, while Dublin has risen two places to fourth after passenger numbers rose by 24.2 per cent to 554,074.
Amsterdam is down one place in fifth, while Alicante is sixth, Malaga seventh, Dalaman eighth, Paris ninth, and Faro tenth.
Palma de Mallorca airport was the twelfth busy airport in the EU in 2013 with 22.7 million passengers, representing an increase of 0.6 percent, according to a report released Thursday by the EU statistics office, Eurostat.
In 2013 the countries with the most air travelers in the European Union were the UK (210 million, + 3.6% compared to 2012), Germany (181 million, + 1.2%), Spain (158 million) , France (138 million, + 2.3%) and Italy (115 million).
London Heathrow Airport remains the leader in passenger numbers (72 million, an increase of 3.4% over the previous year). Followed by Paris Charles de Gaulle (62 million + 0.8%), Frankfurt Main (58 million, + 1.1%), Amsterdam Schiphol (53 million, + 3%), Madrid Barajas (40 million ) and Munich (39 million, + 0.9%).
Barcelona was ninth (35.1 million passengers) and Malaga 25th (12.8 million passengers, + 2.8%).
Autumn arrived in Mallorca with force last week and with more rain is forecast this week.
The first wind and rainstorm after the summer left the island with nearly a hundred incidents, none of them serious, but firefighters worked during the period dealing with flooding and fallen trees and other objects on roads.
A state of yellow alert was declared continued until after the last of the heavy rainfall. The emergency services received 525 calls in just six hours because of the problems that the bad weather caused across the Balearic Islands, most of them in Palma where roads were obstructed.
The rain left its mark across the Majorcan terrain. Up until three in the afternoon Lluc was inundated with 46.9 liters per square meter. In sa Pobla 31.2 liters fell, in s’Albufera de Muro it was 30.6L and Palma port recorded 29.6 liters per m2, according data from the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet).
The wind hit with the most force in Porto Colom where gales reached 108 kilometers per hour. In Manacor gales reached 102kph , in Alfàbia (Bunyola) 84kph, and Son Sant Joan and Cap Blanc (Llucmajor) 75kph.
The morning was especially difficult for the emergency services. In Mallorca there were 74incidents recorded before half past one in the afternoon due to flooded homes, commercial premises and streets. Fallen trees,shutters and parts of buildings were also a problem together with the threat that more would fall on the public.
Palma was the worst impacted with 44 incidents during the morning. Access to the city was cut early on by way of water standing on roadways together with the failure of several traffic lights. The tunnel link Vía Alemania with General Riera was flooded and had to be closed to traffic until eleven o’clock in the morning when firefighters pumped water out.
Minor Incidents
The storm caused minor problems in Calvia and Ses Salines, where several incidents were attended respectively. Firefighters and police were involved in Marratxí, Santanyí, Felanitx, Manacor, Campanet, Algaida, Montuïri, Artà, Muro, Inca, Sineu, Sencelles, Maria, Alcúdia, Estellencs, Porreres, Santa Maria, Llucmajor y Esporles.
In addition to the flood waters and falling objects the emergency services intervened in three electrical hazards, two trapped animals, leaking sewage and a ship that had gone adrift.
In Ibiza, the gales pushed a small aeroplane parked at the airport over to the vehicles transit lane, where it had to be removed. Additionally maritime links to Formentera were canceled. In Menorca, there were six incidents dealt with, the outer port of Ciutadella was also closed to shipping.
The forecast for this week is for more unsettled weather and substantial rain.
Palma Airport closes the Módulo ‘A’ for winter
Palma airport last week closed the doors to the majority of module ‘A’ traffic for the winter season in order to match the capacity of the terminal buildings to the actual passenger traffic.
Thus the whole operation of the module ‘A’, arrival and departure traffic of non-Schengen countries and other countries whose origins or destinations require passenger passport control, moves to Module ‘D’, as indicated by Aena in a press release.
Such a large variation of passenger traffic and significant movement occurs at the tourist airport of Son Sant Joan between the summer and winter that the provided measures are Justified. This results in a saving of energy and resources, achieved without compromising the quality of services offered to passengers.
The Balearic airports surpassed 3 million passengers per month for the last four months
The Balearic airports have exceeded 3 million passengers a month for the last four months and in just three months – July, August, and September – they collectively had over 13 million passengers, as revealed by the Airport Coordination Committee in Palma de Mallorca.
Data indicates a consolidation of the main markets; Germany,Spain and the United Kingdom. In percentage terms passenger increases were seen consecutively for the months of April -6.11%, May – 1.57%, June – 3.73%, July – 2.97%, August -6.82% and September – 3.38%.
Primarily from the growth in terms of the ten source markets, (which include Germany, UK and Spain), it has been seen specifically in the national Spanish market registering a rise of 2.3% and a notable increase from the Swiss market of 12%.
As for the coming off-season months, projections indicate a rise of; 4.5% in November, 8.9% in December, 9.3% in January 2015, 10.7% in February and 3.4% in March 2015. The overall average in terms of passenger forecasts for the Balearic airports indicates a rise of 7.6% compared to last year. Significantly the Aena network in Spain will only rise by 5.1%, so the Baleares region is potentially above the Spanish average.
MARKETING OF AIRPORTS
Other points that have been discussed during the airport meeting were the analysis of the marketing plans for Aena airports, which will build on the information that is managed by and included in Route Committees from each airport and linked to the biennials plans of those airports.
Also during the meeting the issue of Aena bonuses was discussed and a ​​special mention was made about freezing airport charges for the next 10 years along with already existing bonuses for passengers.
This is the second time the Airport Coordination Committee has met, which was established following a request made by the regional Government of the Balearic Islands to the Ministry of Development on the importance of participating in the decision making process regarding airport matters.
In this way through the Committee, the Autonomous Community can work together with AENA to define strategy in developing the airport and on airport charges; in channeling activities related to the promotion of air transport; in promoting activities to strengthen connectivity; in the development of new routes and all those issues deemed necessary to increase passenger and air cargo.
According to a study by Skyscanner the flight comparison website, the country with the worst Wi-Fi system at airports in Europe is Spain. Skyscanner states that 96% of passengers would like to have free Wi-Fi at airports.
Compared to countries like Russia and Italy whose main airports offer free unlimited Wi-Fi, as do 46% of the 50 busiest airports in Europe, passengers in Spain can only enjoy 15 minutes connected to the Wi-Fi network for free even though Spain has some of the busiest airports in Europe.
The study conducted by Skyscanner also shows that a third of travelers would only be happy to pay €1 for an hour of Wi-Fi, a price considerably lower than that established in Spanish airports of €5.50 per hour.
Essential to  be connected
The study also highlights that 71% of passengers admit that Wi-Fi is “important” or “very important” to them. They tend to use it for; talking to family and friends (33%), passing time (30 %), reading their emails (22%), accessing social networks (10%) or work related use (5%).
Given that Wi-Fi in airport terminals is really important for passengers and that costs vary depending on the airport, Skyscanner has made a guide that shows the scope of Wi-Fi in the major airports in Europe thereby providing passengers clear and useful information when traveling.
Angel Guirado head of marketing for Skyscanner in Spain said “We know that Wi-Fi in airports is a very important factor that is gaining special relevance among passengers. Â So for it to not be available or being subject to excessive prices can be very frustrating for travelers who want to check their emails or downloaded a movie to watch during your flight.
The majority of the main Spanish airports at least have these 15 minutes of free Wi-Fi although it can be hard to connect during peak times. The fifteen minutes free airports are Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Malaga Airport transfers, Alicante, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Tenerife North, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Palma.
This initiative will also be provided for airports such as Bilbao, Santiago, La Coruna, Vigo, Asturias, Santander, Valencia, Sevilla, Federico GarcÃa Lorca Granada Airport transfers, Jerez, Almeria, Girona-Costa Brava, Reus, Murcia-San Javier and Zaragoza.
Fflying between Johannesburg and London, an aircraft landed at Son Sant Joan in the early hours of the morning and a casualty was taken to the Son Espases hospital.
An aeroplane flying between South Africa and the UK made an emergency landing last weekend at Palma airport for a medical emergency. Â One passenger suffered a heart problem during the flight and the captain notified that they had to land at Son Sant Joan, where the protocol was activated for situations like these.
The aircraft landed normally and the patient was taken by ambulance to the Son Espases hospital for treatment. Â The aeroplane continued on its route shortly after. Â The incident occurred at about four in the morning, according to sources of Aena.
The carrier was Virgin Atlantic and the aeroplane which had taken off Friday night in Johannesburg was due to arrive in London at six o’clock the next morning, when one of its passengers fell ill flying over the Mediterranean. Â The crew was alerted and reported the situation to the pilot, who informed the control tower at Palma airport. Â The captain explained that they had to land in Mallorca because a person suffering a heart problem needed attention.
Palma airport activated the emergency protocol and an ambulance was dispatched by the runway. Â The plane landed at four-thirty in the morning without a hitch. Â The ambulance crew attended to the casualty and then transferred them to the Son Espases hospital, where they were admitted.
The Virgin Atlantic plane took off an hour later and headed back to London, where it landed a little over two hours late.
The offender was three times over the drink drive limit when his car mounted the pedestrian area in the departures zone. Â All vehicles involved suffered extensive damage.
The 22 year old man was arrested last weekend after crashing into a road sign, two national police patrol cars and a motorcycle. He was driving at the Son Sant Joan airport while heavily intoxicated.
The driver was three times over the maximum alcohol limit and caused extensive damage but luckily didn’t cause any harm to anybody.  The suspect was arrested for violating road safety. The incident occurred last Saturday at around seven in the morning at the departures area of Son Sant Joan.
National Police agents who were at Palma airport alerted Local Palma Police that there had been a traffic accident and requested their presence. Â When officers arrived at the scene they were approached by National Police, who told them that an apparently drunk or drugged driver had collided with two patrol cars, a motorcycle and a traffic sign.
The suspect who was driving a Volkswagen Golf commenced through and lost control, according to police investigations. The car mounted the curb and careered along for several meters before crashing into a road sign that ended up falling on the floor and then crashed against two official vehicles of the National Police and a motorcycle.
The driver continued on his way and came to rest about 500 meters from the crash site. Â Although the area was very busy with passengers entering the airport fortunately nobody was hurt. Â Local police identified the suspect as a 22-year-old resident from Son Servera, and gave him a breathalyzer test.
The result  was 0.68 milligrams per liter of exhaled air, almost triple the maximum limit allowed. The Spanish limit is 0.25 mg/l or 0.15 mg/l if you are a learner driver, i.e. within the first 12 months of obtaining the driving license. So he was arrested for violating road safety.
Both of the two police vehicles and the motorcycle that the car crashed into suffered extensive damage, still awaiting assessment, and were removed.
A bus driver hits another bus driver
At the end of August a bus driver assaulted another bus driver from another bus company during the morning at Palma’s Son Sant Joan Airport.
The alleged aggressor punched the victim. The incident occurred in the morning on the 31st of August in the area where the buses park at the bus terminal.
Apparently the origin of the dispute was a traffic discussion when one of the drivers protested at the way he had just been overtaken.  The other driver didn’t like the criticisms and responded by striking and injuring the other driver.
Last week a car violently burst through the perimeter fence of Palma de Mallorca airport knocking down a section of fencing next to the Sant Jordi roundabout. The car was found in the airport but without documents identifying the driver.
The driver fled after allegedly driving around for a mile or so inside the enclosure of Son Sant Joan airport. The Guardia Civil are investigating the circumstances and are not ruling out that the damaged car, a Volkswagen Golf model, had been stolen and the driver was under the influence of alcohol.
On Friday morning Aena initiated a security protocol to comb the area and check that there were no persons within the facility. Guardia civil officers searched the airport grounds and the airport management repaired the perimeter fence that was damaged in the collision.
The incident was discovered between seven and half past last Friday when some airport security guards who were carrying out a routine patrol around the airport grounds spotted an open hole in the security fence surrounding Palma airport, according to sources at Aena.
A car was responsible for breaking through the security fence. In fact, the car was found and was far from the hole in the fence and point of impact. Officers inspected the car and found that no one inside and the engine was already cold.
After initial investigations, it’s thought that the driver could have traveled about two or three kilometers inside the airport grounds, then would have escaped on foot.
Although the Guardia Civil received notification of a traffic accident just after half past seven, it is suspected that the incident occurred a good few hours before dawn.
During the day at around noon the investigators conducted inquiries to try to locate the driver and to see if the car was listed as stolen.
One fact that caught the attention of the officers was the long distance between the point of impact and the place where the Volkswagen Golf rested on the airport grounds. The investigators attempted to reconstruct the route travelled by following tires tracts and the pieces that fell from the damaged car along the way.
Technicians also inquired if the driver could have got to the end of the runway, where he would have encountered beacon signals and become disoriented by the shock of the crash against the fence and the bright lights against the dark of night.
Airport ground staff repaired the fence where the damage was done by the Volkswagen Golf.
The dense fog settled at around 06:00am at the head of the Palma airport runways. This caused six international flights to divert, two to Menorca and four to Ibiza. Two other flights between Menorca and Mallorca had to cancel.
As the morning progressed to about 9:00am the airport had gradually returned to normal.
According to sources at Palma airport safety procedures were enforced due to the fog, which meant that flights were controlled slightly differently to ensure that the take-off or landing times were considerably larger than usual.
Three flights operating between Menorca and Mallorca were affected by the unusual weather phenomenon. Two of these inter-island links had to cancel, a departure and an arrival.
Passengers affected by this were relocated to other flights, according to sources of AENA.
When the weather changes in Spring from cold temperatures to very hot this can sometimes result in a thick humidity, especially fog if the sea temperatures remain cold.
The high humidity in August and the hot in-land temperatures can contribute to a similar phenomenon, when a layer of cooler coastal air is trapped beneath a layer of warm drier air, fog may appear suddenly.
If you are planning to arrive in Mallorca in August, the hottest month of the year, average daytime temperatures along the coast will be 30-31°C.
A Vueling flight to Madrid, from Ibiza, caused an incident earlier this month on a Saturday night at 00:10 hours. When it started to take-off the aircraft suffered a brake failure and stopped on the runway with all the passengers inside, although no accident occurred according AENA.
They waited 40 minutes before being able to return to the terminal as the aeroplane was stuck on the runway. The aircraft had to stay in Ibiza to be repaired, but the passengers who were heading to Madrid could travel on another plane from Vueling.
Three aircraft approaching to land on the island during this time had to divert to Palma airport being unable to land anywhere at Ibiza’s Es Codolar airport.
All the flights were EasyJet aircraft. Two of them came from English airports in Liverpool and London. The third originated from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Throughout the early hours of the morning, these flights could finally land in Ibiza after they were rescheduled.