Residents’ discounts are one of the bonuses of living on the Canaries and have been permitted to continue for British permanent residents, despite Brexit.
These discounts are primarily intended for locals who may have family or business affairs that require frequent travel to other islands or mainland Spain. However, EU anti-discrimination laws meant that EU members could all claim the discounts. That’s not the case for many third country nationals.
The discounts are substantial: 75% on flights or voyages between the Canaries and to and from Spain. This not only opens up the Canary Islands and Spain for tourism, it also means you might find cheaper flights back to other countries by hopping over to Spain first.
To get the discounts you need to be a permanent resident, registered on the padrón of your local Ayuntamiento. Theoretically, these details will then be accessible by the database of whichever airline or travel provider you use, and further documentation will not be necessary.
However, it doesn’t always work like that, and if the system doesn’t recognise you, you may require a certificado de viajes from your Ayuntamiento. This used to involve popping along, joining the queue, filling in a form, paying a tax of a Euro or so then waiting to get your certificate stamped, but now a number of Ayuntamientos have made it possible to do online for free.
You’ll need to present this certificate at check/in and, perhaps, on boarding, and it’ll need to be accompanied by passport and residency document. If you have all of these things, though, you should be fine.
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