Ever wondered why Fuerteventura shares its clock with London? Right here on Fuerteventura we operate on UTC+00:00 standard time. It is a story of geography, politics and perhaps a touch of mobile phone confusion.
Fuerteventura shares the Western European Timezone with the UK. This includes Ireland Portugal and Iceland. The areas use daylight savings time in the summer. Except Iceland, which observes the same time throughout the year.
The time in Fuerteventura is the same as in the UK and Ireland throughout the year. Mainland Spain is one hour ahead of the Canary Islands.
Mobile phone operators may use the time-zone of mainland Spain. Your phone may show the incorrect time potentially affecting alarms.
The Canary Islands align with the Western European Timezone. This has been the case since the Second World War. At that time Franco switched Spain from GMT to CET. He showed solidarity with Nazi Germany. The Spanish Government has proposed that the country change back to GMT. GMT is the natural time zone for the country according to its Westerly geographic position.
So while the sun tracks its path across the sky, remember the story of UTC+00:00 in Fuerteventura. A story of strong winds, a dictator’s decision, and a surprising connection to the time in London. Enjoy your time here. And perhaps double-check your phone’s clock. You are standing at Fuerteventura.