€700,000 for Jet2, TUI & Co: Canary Islands Government Subsidises New Flight Routes — Despite Overtourism Debate

The Canary Islands Government has awarded five European airlines a total of €695,796 in public funds — to launch seven new direct international routes to the Canary Islands. The recipients: Jet2, TUI, easyJet, SAS and Volotea. The party Drago Canarias is demanding an immediate end to the subsidies. CITA News, your news portal for Gran Canaria, puts the debate in context.

Almost €700,000 for Seven New Routes

The figures are published in the Boletín Oficial de Canarias dated 27 January 2026. The largest amounts go to Jet2: €180,236 for the Birmingham–La Palma route and €171,314 for London–La Palma. TUI receives €103,452 for Stockholm–Fuerteventura, SAS gets €85,019 for Copenhagen–Fuerteventura. easyJet receives €66,270 for Basel–La Palma, Volotea €46,835 for Nantes–La Palma and €42,668 for Marseille–Gran Canaria.

The programme targets islands with fewer direct connections — La Palma and Fuerteventura benefit most. For the south of Gran Canaria, the new Marseille–Gran Canaria connection is most relevant: a route linking the French market directly to Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés.

Drago Canarias: "The Islands Have Exceeded Their Carrying Capacity"

The Canarian party Drago Canarias has sharply criticised the subsidies. National spokesperson Carmen Peña stated: "We all agree that the Canaries have exceeded their carrying capacity — yet they keep bringing more and more tourists." The party sees opportunity costs: while the government funds flight routes, budgets for science, technology and research remain chronically underfunded.

The criticism strikes a nerve. 2025 was a record year: 18.4 million tourists visited the Canary Islands, including 16.3 million from abroad. Total sector revenue reached €23.2 billion. At the same time, the anti-tourism movement is growing — the Canaries landed on Fodor's No-Travel List in 2026.

The Counter-Argument: Without Subsidies, Connectivity Dies

Supporters of the programme argue that the subsidies do not fuel mass tourism on Tenerife or Gran Canaria, but support islands with thin route networks. La Palma — economically weakened after the 2021 volcanic eruption — receives five of the seven funded routes alone. Without seed funding, airlines would not take the risk of launching routes to smaller islands.

Moreover: €700,000 is a rounding error compared to the €23 billion tourism cake. The real overtourism debate revolves around cruise ships, all-inclusive resorts and the housing market — not seven niche routes.

What This Means for Gran Canaria

For the south of Gran Canaria, the debate has direct relevance. The island welcomed over 4.1 million foreign tourists in 2025 — a 3.5 per cent increase. The new Volotea route from Marseille to Gran Canaria complements the existing network and could strengthen the French market, which currently trails behind Britain and Germany.

At the same time, rising fuel prices driven by the Iran crisis contrast sharply with the subsidies: the government is paying airlines to come while fuel costs already pressure tourism. And at ITB Berlin, Gran Canaria was just courting even more German tourists.

Outlook: The Debate Gets Louder

The subsidy question is part of a larger conflict. Canarian society is divided: one in four jobs depends on tourism — but housing prices are soaring, infrastructure is strained, and locals' quality of life is suffering. The call for a tourism tax or moratorium will gain further momentum in 2026.

More on this topic at Maspalomas24h.