New 14-day quarantine measures were introduced by the British Government this weekend to all passengers coming from Spain, which has led to many airlines expressing their discomfort with the UK’s government decision. Also, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advised against all but essential travel to mainland Spain. With Spain being one of the biggest tourism markets out of the United Kingdom, the effect this arrangement is going to have on leisure airlines will be long-lasting.
When the market opened on Monday morning, both TUI UK and Easyjet saw more than a 10% drop in their share values. This comes as no surprise as the latter alone already flies to 21 airports in Spain. The fact that the new quarantine measures come less than three weeks after free travel between the two countries was reestablished does nothing more than further stress the already touched airline sector.
The UK’s flag carrier British Airways showed its dismay on the decision in an announcement by a spokesperson, saying that this was another blow for British holidaymakers and that it would throw thousands of Briton's travel plans into chaos. However, the airline plans to maintain its flights to Spain at the moment.
Photo by Karam Sodhi | AeroNewsX
EasyJet, Britain’s largest airline, criticized the decision in a statement, saying that quarantine measures should be implemented to travelers coming from specific regions in Spain, rather than the entire country. The airline also mentioned that it would continue to operate its full schedule in the upcoming days and that passengers would be alerted should some flights being canceled in August.
Ryanair has also taken the same approach as its counterparts and has criticized the UK’s government decision, whilst its flights between the United Kingdom and Spain will continue to operate normally.
Likewise, British tour operator Jet2 has stated that it will continue to operate its flights to mainland Spain and the islands. According to a spokesperson, all of the destinations the airline currently flies to in Spain are far away from where the virus incidence is at its highest.
On the flip side, TUI UK has canceled all of its flights and holidays to mainland Spain until the 9th of August. Flights to both the Balearic and the Canary Islands will remain operational, despite passengers from these regions having to quarantine as well.
Photo by Pascal Weste | AeroNewsX
Other countries that have implemented special measures to passengers coming from Spain include Norway, which has a 10-day quarantine in place upon return and Belgium, which is advising against non-essential travel. Additionally, France is advising its citizens to avoid travel to the country’s north-eastern region of Catalonia.
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