I have just received information from a contact regarding the possible re-introduction of Monarchs service from Granada to Gatwick.
Its only tentative and is along a path being very carefully trodden.
I include here a letter from the Honorary British Consul in Granada in which she calls for support from those people who feel that Malaga is not the only airport in Spain…
quote;
‘Dear Everybody,
On Monday of this week the new British Ambassador in Spain, Denise Holt, made her first official visit to Granada. She had interviews with the different city authorities, and among them with the Presidente de la Diputaci?n Provincial, with whom she had a long conversation about the low-cost airlines flying between Granada and the UK. These flights have made a great difference to the life of the British residents in Granada and province, as well as to tourists and Erasmus students and many others.
The Presidente de la Diputaci?n has held talks with Monarch airlines with the intention of increasing their subsidies in order that they may resume flights in the spring. He has also made great efforts to achieve a considerable increase in the backing from the Chamber of Commerce.
He has asked me if I can request letters of “support” from the English community who live or holiday here; this means support for his activity and efforts to maintain the low-cost airlines (even the continuity of Ryanair has been imperilled, because of the fact that the City Corporation has discontinued their financial backing). It would be extremely useful if you could write a letter, either to him (via me at this e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) or directly to me, mentioning how important these flights (in general) are to you for visiting your family or doing business in the UK, for your frequent visits during the year….
You can write in either Spanish or English, and I will collect together your letters, print them out and take them to D. Antonio Mart?nez Caler, preferably next week, because he would like this support to take to the big FITUR (Tourist Fair) in Madrid.. He is doing a great job, I think!
Yours sincerely,
Diana L. Kelham
Honorary British Consul in Granada’
unquote
Can I ask there fore everyone on the forum get in touch and show your support and express your views.
I strongly support any action that will restore a service from Granada to Gatwick. Monarchs action in cancelling the flights was, I consider, to be extremely short sighted with absolutely no thought given to the hundreds if not thousands of regular and irregular passengers on this route.
Malaga simply is not an alternative to the Granada service, but one that we are stuck with if Andalucia Inland passengers want an airport with a service to Gatwick.
For many hundreds of travellers, Ryanair’s service is not viable, since departures/arrivals from/to Liverpool, East Midlands or Stansted are just logistically stupid for people living South of the Thames in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire and Dorset.
We dont need to be faced with a three to four hour drive to an airport which lies in totally the opposite direction to that in which we need to travel and then to be faced with a possible two or three hour drive on arrival at Malaga.
Malaga is currently at saturation point, a fact well recognised by AENA who are doing all that they can to ease the situation, but until the new terminal is open and the new runway is built the delays involved in actually getting into the airport will continue to be horrendous.
I will contact Diana offering my support and will paste the content of her message into as many forums as I can.
It is vital that this service be resumed as soon as possible.
If it means restructuring Monarchs pricing system then so be it. It’s high time that all of these low-cost airlines realised that offering passenger fares which equate to less than their rates for hold baggage is not the way to do business.
Thanks again
