Myself and Humphrey Carter from the Bulletin along with many of the Bulletin readers have been canvassing government officials in Majorca and in Scotland to get winter flights reinstated. I am happy to say that after a long break Ryanair is putting on two flights a week from Edinburgh.
In the past it was very expensive and very time-consuming to fly from Scotland to Majorca in the winter. You had to leave Edinburgh at 7am and did not arrive in Majorca until 6pm. Now the flight on 5 November directly from Edinburgh is only £9.99. What a bargain.
Without substantial occupancy levels on the winter flights they will be short-lived because all the airlines are commercial businesses under commercial pressures. To sustain winter flights, the Majorcan government - I believe - is required to do the following:
1. Reduce winter landing charges to a similar level to that of Malaga and Benidorm. According to an article in the Bulletin last year, Benidorm in the winter has an occupancy rate of 80% while Majorca can only reach 2%.
2. Taxation that encourages hotels and bars to close in the winter must be modified to encourage winter tourism.
3. The tourist tax should be abandoned completely from November until April.
4. It is essential to get Majorca open again.
There are many Majorcan people who have families in Scotland and who wish to commute in the winter season to see their families. There are also many people in Scotland who wish to travel to Majorca in the winter. The Scottish government are reducing airport landing charges by 50% and hope to remove them completely in the near future. I consider it time the Majorcan Government take a close look at winter tourism to get Majorca open again in the winter.
Kind regards
Ian Rice
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