La Palma: Bruna cancels Binter flight, ferry as plan B

What does Bruna mean for flights from La Palma?

A Binter flight from La Palma to Gran Canaria was cancelled on Sunday 8 November because of Bruna. The affected passengers were still waiting for an alternative.

Binter is looking for seats on other flights to rebook the travellers. If that fails, the airline is considering a ferry to Tenerife with a connecting flight to Gran Canaria.

So far Binter is only examining the ferry option, and no crossing has taken place. The report gives no total for cancelled flights, nor any flight numbers or times.

Eurocontrol, the European air traffic organisation, reports flow restrictions on arrivals at Gran Canaria and Tenerife Sur because of Bruna. Such restrictions match traffic to capacity when weather hampers operations, and further aircraft divert to other routes.

What should visitors and residents do before heading to the airport?

Binter runs a flight status service that searches by flight number, or by route and date. Anyone flying on Sunday or Monday should look there first.

Aena, the operator of Spain’s airports, regularly advises checking the flight status with the airline before setting off in bad weather. Aena has issued no statement of its own on Bruna.

The report gives no phone numbers and says nothing on refund or rebooking rights. AirHelp, a commercial air passenger rights portal, sums up EU Regulation 261/2004 like this: cash compensation is usually unlikely when weather causes a cancellation.

According to AirHelp, the airline must still offer rebooking or a refund, plus meals and a hotel if an overnight stay is needed. Travellers should keep boarding passes and receipts, get the cause confirmed in writing and sign nothing that gives up their rights.

Which warnings apply on La Palma?

The Dirección General de Emergencias, the Canary government’s emergency authority, issued a wind warning for La Palma from 12:00 on Saturday 7 November. It also covers the summits and the north and north-west zones of El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

AEMET, the state weather service, sets the orange level for rain in zones of La Palma from 21:00 on Saturday. The forecast expects about 30 litres per square metre in one hour and more than 100 litres in twelve hours.

In exposed parts of La Palma, gusts above 70 km/h are possible, perhaps above 90 km/h. Sunday is expected to be the hardest day because the cold front moves from west to east.

On the west coasts of La Palma and El Hierro, the sea worsens from Sunday afternoon. High tides on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday raise the risk of waves breaking over promenades, coastal roads and bathing areas.

Emergencias advises people to avoid unnecessary journeys during the worst phases. Nobody should drive through barrancos (ravines) or flood-prone areas, enter flooded garages or cellars, or go onto breakwaters, piers and exposed promenades.

Why does the weather hit La Palma airport so often?

According to Aena, La Palma airport handled 1,533,355 passengers in 2025, which is 2.5% more than in 2024 and a record. About 254,800 of them were international visitors, and around 1.3 million flew within Spain.

During Storm Claudia on 12 and 13 November 2025, Aena says 31 flights were cancelled and two were diverted. Gusts above 90 km/h had disrupted operations, and the next day they ran normally again.

On 10 December 2025, four flights to La Palma diverted to Tenerife because of fog and gusts, two each to Tenerife Norte and Tenerife Sur. Aena reported adverse weather conditions at the airport at the time.

Tenerife is the usual diversion point for flights to La Palma. Tenerife Norte itself is often closed in fog, as in episodes in June and October 2026.

What does the Saerco strike have to do with the cancellations?

Eurocontrol reports flow restrictions because of a strike at the private towers run by the firm Saerco on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. The strikers demand more resources for the growing air traffic.

The strike is a separate matter and has nothing to do with the weather restrictions from Bruna. The unions USCA and CCOO had called an indefinite strike from 17 April 2026; whether it is running now and when it ends is not confirmed.

What happens over the next few days?

The instability may last into the start of the week, and the high tides apply until Tuesday 10 November. From Monday 9 November the forecast expects waves of 3 to 4 metres.

The Dirección General de Emergencias, 112 Canarias and AEMET publish current warnings. For flights, Binter and Aena give the information.

It is not known how many flights were cancelled or diverted in total, or which airports took the diversions. Whether the Binter passengers were rebooked or travelled by ferry is also unknown, and the reports do not mention any closure of La Palma airport.