Granada and London reunited with new direct flight

Granada Airport now has a direct flight to London after Wizz Air began a twice-weekly link with Luton, this week.

The airline brought forward its inaugural flight from 27 October to this Wednesday, 21 October, when Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén Airport once again had an international feel.

With this move, the province of Granada has re-established its direct air link with the British capital, filling the gap left by the closure of the route operated by Vueling to Gatwick. That service concluded its summer season with average occupancy figures of around 90 per cent, proving the high demand.

This first flight from London arrived on time. Just after half past nine in the morning, the aircraft’s doors opened and, by way of a welcome, a joint contingent of firefighters and officers from the state security forces greeted the passengers – few in number on this inaugural flight – as they set foot on Granada soil.

At the information desk run by Aena - the Spanish state-owned airport operator - the staff member in charge explained that there had been no traditional official reception, as is customary in such cases for inaugural flights.

“With the elections approaching, the presence of officials and the organisation of any formal ceremony have been ruled out,” they explained politely.

María José and her daughter María live in Granada. Clara Eugenia, her other daughter, and her three-year-old son, Kayler, were coming from London.

The doors opened. María José, María and Clara Eugenia melted into an intimate, family embrace. Two little cousins showered each other with kisses and bounced about with joy.

A young English woman appeared and, as soon as the automatic doors leading into the terminal opened, she looked all around. A man appeared and they embraced as if there were no tomorrow.

These are two scenes, but there were plenty more like them.

For some, the fact that there is a direct flight between Granada and London is good news. Grandmother María José summed it up in one sentence: "My daughter and my grandson Kayler come to visit a couple of times a year. Now, with the direct flight, I’ll be able to kiss my daughter and my grandson much more often."

While all this was happening, at the other end of the airport’s main terminal, a group of travellers were getting ready to board the first return flight from Granada to London. They were in a hurry, as the display made clear: ‘Last Call. 10.55h’.