Blackout in Spain
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A group of 77 pupils and four teachers from the IES Rafael Pérez Estrada, located in Cruz de Humilladero, were stranded at Tenerife airport on Monday after their fight was cancelled due to the blackout that affected most of Spain and Portugal. The 4th year pupils, who were on a study trip, were waiting at 8.30pm to board the Vueling flight that was meant to take them back to Málaga. “The flight was already showing on the screen, but nothing was moving. That’s when we started to think there was a problem,” explained Desire Muñoz, head of studies at the school.
Shortly afterwards, the confirmation came: the return flight to Malaga was cancelled. This announcement caused chaos at the airport, especially for the four teachers, who had to make sure that the 77 children in their care were safe and accounted for. “If it's hard to relocate one person, imagine 81," Muñoz said.
The first logistical challenge was finding accommodation for the group, as well as transport. Muñoz coordinated with the travel agency in Malaga, which was experiencing connection problems, but which managed to organise accommodation. “They found us a hotel and the corresponding bus transfer,” Muñoz explained. All scenarios were first considered, including spending the night at Tenerife airport, which closes at 11pm. However, the local authorities assured her that they would not be spending the night outdoors.
With the hotel secured, the next challenge began. Finding a way back to Malaga. According to Muñoz, Vueling offered to relocate the group on two flights. Both depart on Friday. One early in the morning and the other at midday. "It's difficult with such a large group. At most, it can be divided into two groups because there have to be at least two teachers with each group," Muñoz said.
Muñoz said that, at this point, the state of the pupils could be described as “relaxed”. “The children had a tough time, and although there were some nerves, we tried at all times to convey calm and reassurance,” the head of studies explained.
Despite having experienced moments of tension, the group of teachers, which is completed by María Sánchez, Antonio Leal and Elena Cano, highlighted the spirit of collaboration among the people involved in this matter. "We noticed that there was a lot of collaboration, a lot of help... It's true that everyone wanted to get things resolved very quickly. But looking at the context, communication was good," she said.
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