Tenerife South Airport: three old fuel tanks to go

What changes now for visitors and residents?

For passengers at Tenerife South Airport, everything stays as it is for now, as the sources mention no closures or new rules. According to El Día, the tanks stand near one end of the passenger terminal and have been out of use since 2019.

The dismantling should take four months at most, El Día reports. The paper gave no start date, because several permits are still missing.

There is no official advice for travellers during the works yet. Anyone flying to or from the south should check announcements from Aena, the state-controlled airport operator, before they travel.

What exactly is being removed at the airport?

The three tanks hold 2.35 million litres of fuel between them, according to El Día: two of 750 cubic metres and one of 850. Pipework, pumps, outbuildings and fire-protection systems go too, which the report describes as outdated, empty and fully cleaned.

The site covers 10,500 square metres, roughly 40 tennis courts. El Día says the environment ministry in Madrid (Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica) has already given its approval.

The company Exolum Aviation, which stores and supplies aircraft fuel, will carry out the work. It forms part of the Plan Director, the airport’s development plan.

Which conditions apply before work starts?

More permits are needed before the diggers arrive, including some from the Consejo Insular de Aguas (the island water council) and the heritage authority. El Día reports this and gives no deadline.

Exolum must submit a plan against invasive plants such as rabogato and tunera india (prickly pear). Protected plants such as cardones, Canary palms and dragon trees will first be recorded and marked, and only then will it be decided whether any are moved.

One small outbuilding contains asbestos, which only specialist staff may remove under their own protocol. The firm must also check whether archaeological remains lie in the ground.

The water council wants a study of how rainwater drains into the nearby ravines before, during and after the dismantling. The firm must also declare that no polluted water will reach the watercourses.

When will the site be noisy?

Things stay quiet from February to June: noisy work and earthmoving are banned then, both months included, according to El Día. The reason is the birds’ breeding and nesting season.

Before work begins, the firm must search for the protected beetle Pimelia canariensis and mark off the work zones. Against dust and fumes, the project provides for watering, as well as protection against spills of pollutants.

How does the removal link to the 550 million euro refurbishment?

Aena put the main refurbishment out to tender on 30 July 2026, with a total value of more than 550 million euros. According to Aena, 464 million euros go to the terminal and its surroundings and 48.4 million euros to extra parking.

El Día says the new car park will have 2,062 spaces. Aena puts it at 1,255 for hire cars and 807 for private vehicles, plus 28 spaces for people with reduced mobility and 27 charging points.

The terminal grows by about 28%, Aena and the broadcaster RTVC report. The arrivals hall and passport control will be merged, and a central food area and a promenade to the future southern station will be added.

To keep the airport running, Aena plans a temporary check-in building next to Terminal 2 during construction, according to RTVC. A separate boarding building with six gates will also be added.

What is still open?

Nobody bid for the 464 million euro tender before the deadline on 15 September 2026, Diario de Avisos reports. Aena manager Javier Marín called the project, according to the paper, “probably one of the most complex, if not the most complex” of the investment cycle.

The market had priced in more risk than expected, Marín said, according to Diario de Avisos. He named demolition and rebuilding during live operations, the long duration and uncertain building costs as the reasons.

Whether the start in autumn 2027 holds is therefore open. El Día writes that Aena wants to begin the overall terminal works at the end of 2027.

El Día does not say what the tank removal will cost. It is also unclear whether it belongs to the 464 million euro contract or is separate preparatory work.