Pete says:

Yet again the airlines cut such useful routes! Had to rebook more than once in the last couple of years due to budget airlines cutting their routes, even after selling us the tickets. Happy days! Thanks for the info.

Paul Z Martin says:

This is a very strange decision by Monarch, in view of the fact that the number of people travelling from the UK to Granada – both visitors and those with homes or holiday homes here – is at an all-time high and still increasing every day. The number of people arriving at Granada airport has more than doubled over the past five years. The Alhambra is now Europe’s second most visited tourist attraction (after the London Eye); the Sierra Nevada ski resort is becoming increasingly popular as a winter sports destination; and Granada is now the No1 choice for British people buying property and coming to live in Spain. Granada needs more, not fewer direct flights to and from London and other major cities in the UK and Ireland. What’s behind Monarch’s decision to abandon Granada? In view of the fact that the termination of this service is going to cause considerable inconvenience and problems for many people (including loyal Monarch customers, some of whom purchased property in Granada on the assumption that the Monarch had made a commitment to maintain and develop this route) AND have a damaging effect on both the property and tourism sectors here, surely it is incumbent upon Monarch to at least give a full and clear explanation as to why and how they reached this decision (their statement that the London-Granada route “did not meet their expectations” would appear to contradict their previous statements regarding the success of this route, as well as being inconsistent with the observation made by hundreds of regular passengers that flights on this route were almost always fully booked. Did Monarch expect passengers to sit on the wings of their planes?). Perhaps the Olive Press could prevail upon Monarch to give a more detailed explanation for their decision to drop the London-Granada service.

James says:

I think it would be mighty foolish of home owners to factor in a low-cost airline’s route structure into their long-term plans – the carriers are notoriously capricious.

If it’s profitable, and Aena aren’t too greedy with charges, (it’s quite possible Monarch were not able to make it work with their model) then another carrier will be in there like a shot. My guess is Easyjet.

Daniel Horn says:

People need to realize that the era of cheap (carbon based fuel) aviation will soon be over. Its better Granada loses the air link now rather than later when the campo and sierra within a 45 minute drive of the airport is littered with cheap, poorly designed villas built as retirement homes and holiday retreats. Curtailing air pollution is currently a major European Union issue and aviation pollution is currently a mainstream political issue in the UK. This issue is not a passing fad that will disappear as the data is supported by Europe’s top scientists and is starting to be recognized by many main stream politicians. If the increase in price per barrel of crude doesn’t curtail cheap airline growth then political pressure, government legislation and high taxation on aviation fuel may just do it. If the residents of these new developments cannot regularly return to their country of origin cheaply and conveniently then I foresee these numerous, hastily sprung up developments becoming future ghettos, their previous owners long gone and mourning the loss of their dream investment opportunity.