For several years we have enjoyed British Airways scheduled flights direct to Tenerife North airport to holiday in the much quieter Puerto de la Cruz. However, all BA flights now go to Tenerife South (as do all charter flights), giving us a long journey round. We cannot find out why. Any answers, please? Irvine Manning, Tirley, Gloucestershire

Sunday Times travel expert, Richard Green, responds: Tenerife North comes with more baggage than most airports. Formerly known as Los Rodeos, it was from here that General Franco flew to the mainland in 1936 to ignite the Spanish Civil War, and the airfield also witnessed the world’s worst air crash, when in 1977, two jumbo jets collided on the foggy runway, killing over 500 people.

These days the newer airport of Tenerife South is more popular, leaving the North mainly for inter-island flights, and services to the Spanish mainland. As most of the resorts and development on the island has been in the south of the island, British Airways say that there isn’t enough demand for the flights to the North to continue. There is a halt to building anything but 5-star hotels on the island now too, so it might be some time yet before flights to the north become viable again.

However, Ryanair do fly from Dublin to Tenerife North, so you could fly from your local airport to Dublin and then fly direct to the north from there, from about £110 for all four flights. Or you could fly to Madrid with Easyjet, then on to Tenerife North with Air Europa (0870 777 7709), Spanair, or Iberia (0870 609 0500), from about £170. Either would save the 100-mile roundtrip taxi ride between Tenerife South and Puerto de la Cruz, at about £50 each way.

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