Temporary price caps on flights between the Canary Islands and mainland Spain are being considered to help residents facing soaring fares during Christmas, summer and other busy travel periods.
The proposal forms part of the Canary Islands Government’s draft Sustainable and Intelligent Mobility Strategy, known as EMSICAN. It aims to ensure the 75% resident discount delivers affordable travel even when demand pushes ticket prices up.
The suggested caps would apply temporarily when fares rise to levels that could make essential journeys unaffordable. The draft does not propose a permanent maximum price for every ticket.
Campaign groups, including Canarios Sin Alas, have called for measures to tackle high fares for years, highlighting the difficulties faced by islanders who need to travel to the mainland.
A central concern is the base fare charged before the resident discount is applied. The draft warns that increases in this initial price can erode the benefit of the subsidy, leaving passengers paying more despite the discount.
To monitor this, the strategy proposes a flight-price observatory. It would compare subsidised routes with similar connections and publish figures every six months showing what residents actually pay on the five busiest routes between the islands and mainland Spain.
Airlines would also be required to display ticket prices clearly before and after the resident discount, allowing passengers and authorities to see how the reduction has been calculated.
The document proposes clarifying which charges qualify for the discount, including how fuel surcharges and other supplements are treated.
Another measure would involve auditing the automated pricing systems airlines use to adjust fares. These checks would examine whether residents or publicly subsidised routes are being treated unfairly.
The strategy also calls for stronger enforcement against breaches of pricing transparency and discount rules, working with Spain’s competition regulator, the CNMC, and the Ministry of Transport.
If these measures prove insufficient, the government proposes examining public service obligations on selected mainland routes. These arrangements would allow certain connections to be subject to requirements intended to protect essential air links.
Campaigners have already sought such an arrangement for Lanzarote–Madrid. Under the draft strategy, further routes would be considered after analysing fare trends and identifying connections where prices prevent adequate access for residents.
However, none of these measures has been approved. They remain part of a draft undergoing assessment and public consultation.
Many of the proposals, particularly fare caps and public service obligations, would require cooperation with the Spanish Government and European institutions. The Canary Islands Government could not introduce them unilaterally.
