The Minister of Public Works, Housing and Mobility of the Government of the Canary Islands, Pablo Rodríguez, informed the Parliament of the Canary Islands on Tuesday of the steps being taken by the Canarian Executive to advance in the declaration of public service obligations (PSOs) and improve air and maritime connectivity between El Hierro, La Gomera and La Palma, known as the Green Islands.
During his appearance, Rodriguez recalled that the improvement of the connectivity of these three islands has been a reiterated claim of the Government of the Canary Islands in different legislatures, through non-law proposals, appearances and meetings of the Joint Monitoring Commission of the Air Patrols. In this regard, he pointed out that, in December 2025, the Ministry stated that it did not plan to declare new air public service obligations in the Archipelago.
However, the Minister stressed that, following the repeated requests of the Canarian Executive, the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has begun the processing of air transport services for connections between El Hierro, La Gomera and La Palma.
Specifically, on 30 October, the Director General of Air Transport agreed to urgently process, for reasons of public interest, the proposal to declare these public service obligations for subsequent approval by the Council of Ministers. This decision will allow the deadlines established in the ordinary procedure to be reduced by half.
On the same day, the Government of the Canary Islands received notification of the start of the hearing process, with a deadline of five days, along with the draft agreement for the declaration of the PSOs.
Among the main conditions included in the state document are a minimum daily round-trip frequency per route, with freedom for companies to determine schedules; a minimum capacity of 27,000 seats per year per connection and aircraft with at least 38 seats.
The draft also establishes a reference fee of 84 euros, with the possibility of applying flexible rates, the amount of which may not exceed that amount by 30%. It also contemplates the review of the declaration within three years and the creation of a joint monitoring committee, composed of three representatives of the Ministry and three of the Government of the Canary Islands.
Seven proposals to ensure real connectivity
Along these lines, the Minister stressed that the declaration of the PSOs must respond to the real mobility needs of citizens and not be limited to guaranteeing the existence of flights between the islands.
For this reason, the Ministry, through the Vice Ministry of Infrastructure, has submitted seven allegations to the state draft with the aim of improving the conditions initially proposed.
The first proposal proposes the joint exploitation of the three routes through a circuit that allows optimizing operations and improving connections between the Green Islands.
The Government of the Canary Islands has also requested to establish mandatory time slots that allow for round trips on the same day, with departures in the morning and returns in the afternoon. The aim is to make it easier for citizens to make arrangements and travel for work, health, administrative, educational or business reasons in Tenerife and Gran Canaria without having to spend the night.
The third allegation contemplates a progressive increase in frequencies through an objective mechanism that allows expanding services when the average occupancy exceeds 70% during a season.
In addition, the Ministry has requested to guarantee the minimum frequencies regardless of the use of higher-capacity aircraft than the 38 seats initially planned.
The fifth proposal proposes that, in the event that there is a restricted market and there are no operators interested in providing the service, the tender be carried out jointly for the entire circuit of the three routes, avoiding fragmented exploitation.
On the other hand, the Canarian Executive has requested to extend the duration of the contracts from three to five years and avoid cost overruns for passengers on journeys with intermediate stops. In the latter case, it is proposed that, when the passenger does not have to leave the aircraft, they pay the fare corresponding to their final destination and not a higher amount for the journey with stopover.
Rodriguez valued the start of the process, although he insisted that the objective is to make the connections really useful for the population of El Hierro, La Gomera and La Palma.
Regarding the schedule, the director explained that, once the agreement has been approved by the Council of Ministers, the companies will be offered the possibility of operating the routes on a free market basis. If they do not appear, they will be called by public tender. In the latter case, the Ministry has stated that the connections could be operational in the summer of 2027.
The Government of the Canary Islands claims a maritime PSO from the State
Regarding maritime transport, Pablo Rodríguez recalled that the Government of the Canary Islands has requested at least three times from the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility the declaration of a public service obligation for the triangular route between La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro, considering that it meets the requirements of general interest and territorial cohesion.
Asimismo, se ha solicitado un informe sobre la situación actual de la conectividad marítima entre las tres islas, un estudio de viabilidad para una posible OSP de pasajeros y vehículos y un nuevo encuentro en Bruselas con la Comisión Europea para retomar la propuesta de establecer esta conexión como OSP.
Actualmente, las conexiones marítimas entre las Islas Verdes se encuentran en régimen de libre prestación y cuentan con dos compañías operadoras, Fred. Olsen y Baleària. Además, se ha incorporado un nuevo buque de Fred. Olsen en La Palma, que ha ampliado las opciones de conexión con Tenerife, mientras que se han iniciado trabajos para descongestionar el puerto de Los Cristianos.
Ante la falta de respuesta del Ministerio a las solicitudes trasladadas, la Consejería está trabajando en un análisis de la demanda y una evaluación de los servicios marítimos actuales.
El objetivo es disponer de datos que permitan determinar si la oferta actual responde a las necesidades de conectividad de las Islas Verdes y, en caso de resultar insuficiente, establecer las correspondientes obligaciones de servicio público.
