The UK’s two-week quarantine on everyone arriving from Spain is “unjust”, the country’s prime minister has said. Pedro Sanchez insisted that tourists in most Spanish regions would be safer from coronavirus than in the UK. Labour said the government’s handling of the restrictions, which were imposed on Sunday, had been “chaotic”. The UK’s two-week quarantine on everyone arriving from Spain is “unjust”, the country’s prime minister has said.
Pedro Sanchez insisted that tourists in most Spanish regions would be safer from coronavirus than in the UK. Labour said the government’s handling of the restrictions, which were imposed on Sunday, had been “chaotic”.
Speaking to Spanish TV station TeleCinco, the Socialist leader said Britain should not be treating holiday islands such as Mallorca, Ibiza and the Canaries — where incidences of coronavirus are low — in the same way as the Spanish mainland. “It would be safer to be in those destinations than in the United Kingdom,” Sánchez said. “We are talking with British authorities to try to get them to reconsider.” Sánchez stressed the U.K. and Spain remain “friends” despite the crisis, but it’s clear relations are buckling somewhat under the strain.
Sánchez said. “In most of Spain, the incidence is very much inferior to the numbers registered in the United Kingdom.” The same complaints are being made by U.K. travel industry chiefs, as the FT details here. “Painting an entire country with the same brush does not benefit anyone,” said Gloria Guevara, president of the World Travel and Tourism Council.
“Labour has made clear that it supports evidence-based protective measures at the border.” said Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary,
“We have long called for all the scientific evidence to be made public and for a ramped-up track trace and isolate system to be in place so as to avoid the need for the blunt tool of 14-day quarantine.
“The Government’s policy regarding travel restrictions has lacked grip and coherence from the outset.
“This latest decision-making process regarding Spain and the short-notice for travellers has created a sense of panic and loss of control.
“The Government should have proper contingency plans to support people coming home where there is no guarantee their employers will allow them 14 days of work flexibility.
Rory Boland, Which? Travel Editor, said:
“This is the third announcement we’ve heard from the government regarding travel to Spain in the last three days. Hundreds of thousands of UK holidaymakers in Spain or about to fly are utterly confused.
“While almost all package holidays are now likely to be cancelled, airlines are ignoring the FCO travel warning and continuing flights to Spain, therefore refusing customers refunds. While some airlines, like British Airways and Easyjet, are waiving rebooking fees, others, like Ryanair have said standard terms and conditions apply. This forces customers to make an impossible decision on whether to fly or risk losing their money.
“The reality is the government says you shouldn’t go, but the airlines won’t refund, and the regulator is yet to take any strong action against airlines who’ve been behaving terribly for months.“
