THE British Government has reimposed a 14-day quarantine requirement for people entering the UK from Spain, throwing the holiday plans of thousands of travellers into chaos.
Effective from yesterday the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office upgraded its travel advice to warn against all non-essential travel to mainland Spain, based on evidence of increase in cases of COVID-19 in several regions.
Although the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands are not part of the travel ban, the entire country including these popular holiday destinations has been removed from the UK Government’s list of exempted destinations (TD 06 Jul).
Some tour operators were forced to immediately cancel their existing departures, while agents were forced to contact clients currently in Spain with the news that they would now have to self-isolate for 14 days upon their return.
Ironically the decision was made just a few hours after UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps flew out on holiday to Spain, with the politician advised of the move by his own department during a conference call.
The World Travel and Tourism Council said the decision was “disastrous for the hard-pressed travel and tourism industry both in Spain in the UK,” but officials have defended the move saying “we must be able to take swift, decisive action to protect the UK”.
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Source: traveldaily