Cabildo and USCA urge government to restore air traffic control in Fuerteventura
The Island Council and the Union of Air Traffic Controllers (USCA) are demanding that the privatization of the control towers managed by SAERCO—the current contractor for air traffic control in Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and La Palma—be reversed so that ENAIRE, the state-owned entity, temporarily assumes the service. Their goal is to guarantee continuity, operational safety, and adequate working conditions.
The president of the Island Council, Lola García, met with USCA’s institutional secretary, María José Valdés, and the union’s president, Lola Moreno, to discuss the deteriorating situation at the Fuerteventura control tower. USCA reports a series of problems, including:
- Gaps in shift coverage and guard duties
- Deployment of personnel lacking proper certification
- Practices that undermine labor security
USCA reminded the officials that SAERCO has admitted in court that it cannot meet the labor conditions stipulated in its contract, indicating a structural economic infeasibility and a serious risk to service provision.
Both parties have again proposed a precautionary suspension of SAERCO’s accreditation and its replacement by ENAIRE, the public provider, as an immediate measure to ensure the proper functioning of the service and to protect workers’ rights.
The request has been forwarded to the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. The island president emphasized the urgency:
“From the Cabildo, we remain concerned about a situation that affects our economy and way of life, which depend on the proper functioning of the airport. We conveyed this to the minister on July 29.”
In addition, the Cabildo of Fuerteventura is coordinating with the cabildos of Lanzarote and La Palma to elevate the appeal to the Canary Islands Federation (FECAI), arguing that the issue jeopardizes the archipelago’s overall connectivity.