Low visibility from the dust cloud caused travel chaos on the Spanish islands over the weekend, the BBC reported, and the Canary government’s Directorate General for Security and Emergencies has also warned of strong winds of 120kmh.

The Saharan sandstorm was reportedly so big it could be seen on satellite images from space. 

Spanish airport operator Aena told TTG 1,000 flights and 120,000 passengers have been affected since 23 February but all airports are now open – except Tenerife South. 

“Gradually, flights are being recovered at airports, which are operating with reduced capacity,” said the spokesperson.

“Check the status of your flight with your airline, because it can still be affected,” Aena advised in a Tweet.

British Airways has reported it is now operating all flights as normal, but Jet2.com has postponed its entire schedule for today (24 February) until tomorrow (25 February).

Jet2.com Tweeted: “While we are still confirming all new schedules for our flights, we can confirm that no flights will operate to the Canaries on 24/02/2020.”

Tui’s flights programme is now operating as planned. A spokeswoman said: "We would like to sincerely apologise to our customers whose flights were disrupted by adverse and changeable weather conditions in the Canary Islands over the weekend.

"The safety of our customers and crew is always our highest priority and we’re working tirelessly to get everyone to their destination as quickly as possible."