Sandstorm forces closure of airports on Spain's Canary Islands

• Some flights briefly resumed Sunday morning before airports were shuttered again.
• Located off the coast of Morocco, the Canary Islands are a popular tourist destination for northern Europeans seeking winter sunshine.
• The archipelago received 13.1 million foreign visitors last year, according to national statistics institute INE figures, making it Spain's third most visited region.

MADRID: Airports on Spain's Canary Islands were closed again Sunday after a sandstorm hit the archipelago, airport authorities said.

The airports were first shut Saturday and scores of flights cancelled after strong winds carrying red sand from the Sahara shrouded the tourist hotspot.

Some flights briefly resumed Sunday morning before airports were shuttered again.

"Visibility is very low. Planes which had been due to land on the islands are being diverted to mainland Spain," a spokeswoman for Spanish airport operator AENA said.

All flights in and out of the airport on Gran Canaria, and all flight's leaving Tenerife's two airports, were suspended along with five others.

The regional government declared a state of alert on Saturday and advised people to keep doors and windows closed, avoid non-essential car travel and stay away from coastal areas.

Spain's national weather service warned that winds of up to 120 kilometres (75 miles) were set to buffet the Canaries until Monday.

Strong winds also prevented water-dropping aircraft from putting out fires in Tasarte village in southwest Gran Canaria, which have scorched around 300 hectares of land and forced 500 people to be evacuated.

"Since they can't use planes or helicopters, the fronts of the wildfire are getting out of hand," Angel Victor Torres, the head of the regional government, told reporters.

Located off the coast of Morocco, the Canary Islands are a popular tourist destination for northern Europeans seeking winter sunshine.

The archipelago received 13.1 million foreign visitors last year, according to national statistics institute INE figures, making it Spain's third most visited region.