31/07/2009

Majorca Flights On Time, Despite Bomb Horror

Yesterday's horrific bombing in a busy tourist resort in Majorca hasn't stopped holidaymakers jetting out to the Spanish island.

Dublin Airport Authority said this morning that flights to and from Palma, Majorca, are running to schedule.

While they said passengers who have concerns should contact their airline, it looks like it's 'business as usual' for the country's vital tourist industry.

British as well as Irish tourists are defying yesterday's deadly terror attack and travelling as normal.

Despite the double murder of two Spanish police officers who were killed in the car bomb blast in the Palmanova beach resort, the return today of inbound tourists will be seen as a fillip to the recession-hit Spanish tourist industry.

It will also be seen as a snub to the terrorists bent on inflicting both murderous and economic harm on Spain.

Especially after three decades of local terrorism during the North's Troubles, people are expected to ignore the bombing and get on with their holiday.

Doreen McKenzie, Northern Ireland spokeswoman for the Association of British Travel Agents, told the Belfast News Letter last night there had been minimal disruption to travellers.

Ms McKenzie said: "If this bomb in Majorca turns out to be a one-off it should not be a big worry for travellers."

Spanish authorities blamed yesterday's deadly bomb attack on the Basque separatist group Eta and said that the explosion represented the first fatal bomb attack in the Balearic Islands.

Two police officers, identified as Carlos Saenz de Tejada Garcia and Diego Salva Lesaun, both in their 20s, were killed in the blast. A second unexploded device was later found near the explosion site and was defused.

However, after massive disruption yesterday afternoon - when the island was effectively 'locked down' - all the holidaymakers stranded at the island's Palma airport were being allowed to fly home.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero described the killings as "vile" and paid tribute to the Civil Guards and said the killers would be caught.

The deadly incident came just a day after a massive car bomb in the northern Spanish city of Burgos injured more than 60 people.

Eta has been held responsible for more than 820 deaths during its decades-long campaign for an independent homeland in Spain's Basque region.

The bombs came ahead of the 50th anniversary of Eta's founding, today, (Friday).

Last August, a series of bomb attacks in the Costa del Sol's Benalmadena area caused minor damage, and no injuries.

(BMcC/KMcA)

Related Irish News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

24 June 2013
Gardai Investigate Pipe Bomb Incident In Dublin
Gardai are currently investigating a pipe bomb incident in Dublin this morning. The bomb exploded on Apollo way at 12.30am in Coolock. No one was injured in the incident. Gardai are appealing to anyone with information to contact them.
09 November 2012
Employees Go Back To Work Following Protest
Workers have gone back to work after holding a protest outside the Great Island power station in County Wexford. Over 60 employees took part in the protest over the possibility that some of them would be replaced by a Spanish scaffolding contractor. However, an agreement was made in a meeting yesterday and the workers returned this morning.
31 August 2012
Three Arrested Following Drugs Find
A couple from Cork and an Irishman have been arrested in Spain after €6 million of cannabis was discovered on board an Irish yacht. Approximately 500kg of the drug was discovered on board the vessel by Spanish authorities. It is believed to have been travelling from Morocco. Gardai are liaising with Spanish police in relation to the three suspects.
13 March 2009
Garda Boss Pays Respects To North's Murdered Policeman
Ireland's most senior police officers have stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the funeral of murdered police constable Stephen Carroll (pictured). The sad event has taken place in Banbridge, Co Down today. Thousands of people lined the streets to pay their respects to 48-year-old Mr Carroll, who was gunned down by the Continuity IRA.
14 March 2008
Petrol Bomb Attack On House In Derry
Police in Derry are investigating a petrol bomb attack on a house in the Moyne Avenue area of the city. The front of the house was damaged and a window was broken in the incident which happened at around 3am this morning. A couple were in the house at the time but no one was injured in the attack.