Easter “Exit Operation” in the run-up to the pandemic

Two years after the Korovirus pandemic caused Easter due to traffic restrictions, the General Directorate of Traffic is launching a special operation this Friday and Monday, April 18, a period in which 14.6 million road trips are expected. Typically, a motion tracking and regulation device will be implemented in two phases during these eleven days. The first starts this Friday at three o’clock in the afternoon and will continue until Sunday until midnight. [Consulta aquí el estado del tráfico]

In this first operation since the Easter holidays, DGT expects 3.7 million trips, while the second phase will combine more departures and return traffic, nearly 11 million, between Wednesday the 13th and Monday the 18th of April. Because this is one of the most challenging special road operations of the year, due to the large volume of concentrated travel in a short period of time, DGT this week launched an awareness campaign addressing the driver’s responsibility to avoid following the rules. Mathematical model predictions indicate that 36 people will die on the roads this Holy Week.

“Let the ‘big data’ be wrong” is the slogan of this campaign, which appears on media and social networks. In one of the ads, pictures of different people say their age and where they live. “I’m here today and I’m going to die this Easter,” the young man said, before the narrator ‘s voice explained that the statistics predicted “everything” and said that “36 people would die on the roads during this period.” “Now that we know, we may be able to avoid it. Respect the rules. “Let the ‘big data’ be wrong,” he concludes. Traffic recalls that from March 21, new traffic regulations in force on speed, distraction, seat belts and alcohol will take effect.

More places in Renfe

For its part, Renfe offers nearly 2 million seats on its commercial and public service carriers for the Easter holidays. On Friday, Monday, April 8-18, the company will increase its available capacity by 79,569 additional seats on trains to the most sought-after destinations on Ave and Larga Distancia. For travelers traveling nearby, Renfe offers 836,685 seats on Avant and Media Distancia services.

The days of the largest increase in seats are focused on Friday the 8th and Monday the 18th (with a total of 388,472 seats in both commercial and public services), coinciding with the departure and return of the holidays to further enhance service by a maximum of Wednesday. On the 13th or Holy Thursday. The company is planning 186,755 seats on these trains for the return operation.

Crowded airports

Spanish airports will register a total of 57,376 flights during this holy week, from Friday, April 8 to Monday, April 18, according to sources in the Europa Press from Aena. In particular, 22,725 domestic flights correspond to planned flights, while 34,651 correspond to international flights. According to the airport manager, this Saturday will be the busiest day in the AENA airport network, with a total of 5,494 scheduled flights, 1,913 national and 3,581 international.

On Sunday, April 10, 5341 arrivals and departures are scheduled at all airports in Spain. After the weekend, scheduled flights will decrease, followed by Tuesday, April 12, the day with fewer operations, and will reach 4764 flights. In the following days, on Wednesday, April 13, the number of operations will exceed 5,000, on Thursday 5165 air traffic will be carried out, and on Friday it will be 5125.

At the same time, on the weekends of April 16 and 17, respectively, 5457 and 5444 air traffic will be registered. On the last day of Holy Week, Monday, April 18, 5211 surgeries will be scheduled. Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport will be the one to register the highest traffic expected for this period, with a total of 9785 operations before 18 April. They are followed by Barcelona-El Prat Airport, which will register 8882 flights; Palma de Mallorca, with 7170 scheduled surgeries; Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport, which will reach 4424 scheduled flights and Gran Canaria, where 3673 operations will be carried out in two weeks from today.

Arrival of tourists

Given the geopolitical situation caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the uneven pace of recovery around the world, Spain is “well positioned” for Easter and is one of the most restored global destinations in terms of international arrivals. The government announced this on April 1.

According to the latest data on air bookings, air arrivals from abroad to Spain are expected to be only 13% lower than the values ​​of Easter 2019, while national air travel is only 1% lower than the values ​​before the pandemic. .

“Throughout the pandemic we have seen many frustrated demands that have grown into renewed interest from travelers each time restrictions have re-allowed travel; In this new phase of the pandemic, Spain is rapidly recovering to a point where it is close to pre-crisis values. “This Easter we expect traditional markets of origin, such as the United Kingdom or Germany, to surpass the entry level to a pandemic,” said Juan A. .

Ski season

A total of 25 ski resorts will open this weekend, April 9th ​​and 10th, across Spain, in the Cantabrian Mountains, Aragon, the Pyrenees of Catalonia, the Central System, the Iberian System and the Penitentiary System, out of the 32 that form the Ski Tourism Association. And mountain resorts (Atudem).