Malaga passengers impacted by Monday's train cancellations: 'They are asking us to pay 1,000 euros for a plane ticket to Madrid'

Many passegers were stranded in Malaga on Monday due to the cancellation of numerous services following the serious train crash on Sunday. Those who have checked for plane tickets as an alternative will have seen a 'no tickets available' message appear on airline websites.

Given that Malaga-Madrid flight prices skyrocketed due to demand after the train incident, it is likely that the 'lucky' ones have had to pay up to 1,000 euros for some of the last tickets for the trip.

Javier and Sonia are two of the many people impacted by the suspension of trains to Madrid and its surrounding stations. They had planned to leave at 7.30am on Monday, after spending the weekend in Malaga, but their plans changed after their train was cancelled. They are now waiting to see if they can get bus tickets.

IBERIA ANNOUNCES EXTRA FLIGHTS

Before checking buses, the couple tried looking for flights, but they were caught off guard by the prices. "Yesterday there were flights to Madrid for 50 or 60 euros. Today we've seen prices of up to 850 euros. It's shameful that they're taking advantage of such situations," Javier said.

In light of these circumstances, Iberia announced four additional flights on Monday between Barajas, Malaga and Seville airports. "Iberia will continue monitoring the situation and adapt its operations according to the needs of its customers," the airline sources said. The company also said that larger capacity aircraft will be used for these special operations.

Air Europa has also announced that, starting on Tuesday, it will add an extra flight from Malaga to Madrid. The airline has stated that it will increase its current four daily flights, i.e. four outbound and four return flights, to five. This schedule will remain in place at least until Friday, with "the possibility of adding even more flights". For the moment, Air Europa has mobilised an additional Boeing 737, with a capacity for around 180 passengers, which will mean an additional 360 seats.

FITUR INCREASES DEMAND

President of the Andalusian travel agencies association Sergio García has confirmed that there are no tickets available for flights from Malaga to Madrid on Monday and Tuesday. Besides train cancellations, the international tourism fair (Fitur), held in Madrid from 21 to 25 January, is also attributable to the lack of plane tickets. Following the train crash, many professionals who were planning to attend the fair started buying plane tickets to the Spanish capital.

This demand, together with those who had already planned trips to Madrid for other reasons, has meant that it is now impossible to find plane tickets for this route. "The planes are already full, despite Iberia's announcement that it is increasing the number of flights," García said.

Demand for rental cars has also skyrocketed. García said that many tourism professionals travelling to Madrid for Fitur are even hiring coaches. Many others will travel in private cars.