By Clara-Laeila Laudette

MADRID (Reuters – Spain has plans to fly more this winter than in the past pandemic. This is because of an incipient recovery that buoys the airlines hard-hit by the pandemic. But, surging fuel costs are a worry, said the head ALA, the national airline association.

Javier Gandara, president of ALA, stated that 1.9% more flights are being planned for the winter season – approximately from November through March – than in 2019, referring to both domestic and international flights.

“And, for the Canary islands and Balearic Islands, scheduled flights are almost 10% more than in 2019.

However, rising energy costs and fuel shortages may jeopardize the recovery of Spain. Spain was the second most visited country in the world before the pandemic.

Gandara said that as airlines fly again, congestion in airspace will increase and could cause delays across Europe. This may affect holidaymakers, who have become the market’s most important customers.

The cargo sector is a bright spot in aviation. It transported almost 99% of its pre-pandemic level freight 28% faster than usual, thanks to an e-commerce lockdown.

Gandara reiterated that the recovery of air travel requires a harmonised system for health passes and bilateral agreements with Spain’s top tourism markets. He also suggested more staff at border controls to cut wait times.

According to the head of ALA (which represents more than 60 airlines which together carry around 80% of Spain’s passengers), the hope is that Spanish air traffic will reach 2019 passenger levels by the second-half of 2022.

The recovery of air travel to Spain is slowly happening in the recent months. In September 2016, 16.3 million people traveled through Spain, according to Aena (Spanish airport operator). This figure represents an 199% increase over last year but still less that half of pre-pandemic levels.