Thousands of passengers were plunged into travel chaos on Thursday after a private jet blocked the runway at Tenerife's main airport, sparking widespread flight disruptions and diversions.
The jet had become stranded at Reina Sofía airport in the south of the island leading to 20 incoming flights being diverted, 13 of which originated in the UK.
A technical fault is understood to have left the private aircraft immobilised on the runway - and it left holidaymakers facing extensive delays both arriving at and departing from the holiday hotspot.
The private jet landed at approximately 5.45pm on Thursday, and airport staff spent several hours attempting to tow the aircraft clear of the runway.
Departure boards at Tenerife South (file photo)
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Among the UK flights affected included services from Birmingham and Manchester operated by Ryanair, and a Tui flight from Norwich.
The flights were diverted to Tenerife North airport - approximately one hour away by road from the main southern airport where passengers were originally meant to arrive.
The disruption also took its toll on outbound flights, with some crew members exceeding their permitted working hours.
The remaining diverted flights were spread between Las Palmas, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura airports, with passengers continuing to their intended destination once Tenerife's runway reopened.
MORE TRAVEL CHAOS:
Among the UK flights affected included services from Birmingham and Manchester operated by Ryanair
PAOne of these, easyJet flight 3201A from Edinburgh, was forced to divert to Las Palmas.
The flight, which had already departed Scotland 80 minutes late, was forced to wait for several hours before finally reaching Tenerife four hours behind schedule.
The aircraft's crew could only reach Madrid before exceeding their permitted working hours, resulting in a 24-hour delay for the return journey to Scotland.
An easyJet spokesman said: "Following the temporary runway closure of Tenerife airport, easyJet, like all airlines, experienced some disruption to its operations to and from Tenerife."
One easyJet flight from Edinburgh was forced to divert to Las Palmas
PA"We are making every effort to get customers to their destination and any customers whose flights are disrupted due to the impact of the runway closure are being notified and provided with options to rebook or receive a refund as well as hotel accommodation and meals where needed."
The travel chaos may have come as good news to some Tenerife locals - who have long protested against mass tourism on their island.
Just weeks ago, vandals targeted two popular beaches in Tenerife, defacing more than 230 sunbeds with anti-tourist graffiti - as slogans were spotted reading "Canarias se defiende" (The Canary Islands defend themselves) and "Canarias no se vende" (The Canary Islands are not for sale) across the beach furniture.
