The car park at Arrecife airport is split into two halves. One half is reserved for the hire car companies, who park their fleet there when not in use. The other half is open to the public and has one of the most unusual price structures that I have ever seen for a car park.

They charge by the minute.

Admittedly the price is only between 1 and 2 cents per minute, and as of 2009 the first half hour is free.  So effectively that is about 1 Euro per hour, making it cheaper than most car parks in Germany.

But still, as fair as it might seem to have such an exact method of charging, imagine what it must be like to have to wait in a long queue at the ticket machine on your way out  and see the minutes ticking by!

Airport parking charges, October 2009

BBC News is reporting today that a Thomas Cook flight from Glasgow skidded off the end of the runway after landing in Arrecife this morning.

They have a short film showing the plane next to the perimeter fence with fire engines in attendance.  Passengers appear to have left the aircraft using steps and there are no chutes visible.

Click here for more details.

I found this video on YouTube – it was made on board an aeroplane landing at Arrecife. The airport is situated on the coast and the plane is coming in from over the sea. Out of the window you can see the typical white buildungs next to the airport, in the far left of the picture maybe even of the end of Puerto del Carmen.