Travel Advise Latest Update from the UK Foreign Office

[Aviador]

The UK is reintroducing quarantine restrictions on arrivals from Spain due to a covid-19 spike. The restrictions are expected to come into force as early as Sunday.

 

[JENNYJET]

This decision is a consequence of BREXIT, the UK now has the freedom to unilaterally decide upon border policy, this without prior reference to the Commissioners in Brussels.. Note also that UK was not asked for aid and none was offered during the recent EU heads of government summit concerning a Union Coronavirus recovery fund.

 

[Silvercity]

The UK is reintroducing quarantine restrictions on arrivals from Spain due to a covid-19 spike. The restrictions are expected to come into force as early as Sunday.

I heard this too. Bad news for airline and travel industry

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It's mainland Spain. The Canaries and Balearics are not included - a small consolation.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It's mainland Spain. The Canaries and Balearics are not included - a small consolation.

That might not be correct. I took it from a headline but the BBC is now reporting,

The rules apply to travellers arriving from anywhere in Spain - including the Canary and Balearic Islands.

And the government is now advising "against all but essential travel to mainland Spain".

The islands appear to be exempt from the non-essential travel advice but not the quarantine.

 

[richard winterbourn]

I can't help thinking that this decision is going to cause absolute chaos at airports as Border Force try to collect the necessary information on arrivals to monitor and maintain quarantine.

I passed through Birmingham just over two weeks ago on a flight from Faro. I do not say it was chaotic, it seemed to be handled relatively well. But now, add all flights from Spain to those from Portugal and the increased number of airlines now operating into and out of the UK and, i am sure,the problem is going to be unmanageable.

And what then, when everyone has returned home to quarantine, will it be the local police who will have to accept the responsibility to ensure no-one is breaking quarantine. It will be an impossible task.

 

[KARFA]

There shouldn’t be any difference at the UK border since all arriving passengers (other than domestic & Ireland) already complete the passenger locator form. The level of checking has always been variable, and in many cases when e passport gates are on there are no checks of the form on arrival.

 

[richard winterbourn]

Karfa, like all arrangements put in place, there can be flaws. The night before i returned from Portugal i received an email from Ryanair and duly filled in the passenger locator form on my smartphone. However, where this fell down for me and for many other passengers, was inside the terminal at Birmingham where i could not get a wifi connection. I am not a technophobe and while i did not panic i clearly needed some help. Eventually a Border Force guy was able to connect me first to the Birmingham Airport wifi and then onto my own locator form.

Not everything is as straightforward as it is meant to be.... Multiply my dilemma ten fold and therein lies the problem. Maybe the Border Force check should be sited elsewhere at the airport, perhaps on the tarmac as people leave the plane, as it was in Portugal when i arrived there 10 days previously....

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

So i'm a little baffled by this decision. Spain are reporting rises in cases around the Barcelona and Madrid areas and that it is.

And we've got this government putting a blanket ban on the whole of Spain which includes Balearics and Canaries? So despite the canary islands been between 1066nm and 1213nm away from BCN, the place that is widely effected, we still have this ban.

This to me is a knee jerk reaction with Priti *fu**ing useless* Patel leading the way. She wants to be seen to be doing something. Despite having nearly 10/11 weeks of allowing 10,000 people into the country with no track and trace, no isolating nothing. Then all of a sudden Spain are seeing a local spike and everyone has to isolate for 2 weeks on the return. Shambles. Over reaction with no thought process behind it at all. I mean i'd like to say i'm not shocked this is coming from a government full of incapable, incompetent fools.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Karfa, like all arrangements put in place, there can be flaws. The night before i returned from Portugal i received an email from Ryanair and duly filled in the passenger locator form on my smartphone. However, where this fell down for me and for many other passengers, was inside the terminal at Birmingham where i could not get a wifi connection. I am not a technophobe and while i did not panic i clearly needed some help. Eventually a Border Force guy was able to connect me first to the Birmingham Airport wifi and then onto my own locator form.

Not everything is as straightforward as it is meant to be.... Multiply my dilemma ten fold and therein lies the problem. Maybe the Border Force check should be sited elsewhere at the airport, perhaps on the tarmac as people leave the plane, as it was in Portugal when i arrived there 10 days previously....

What happens to people who don't have a mobile phone - like me (from choice)?

 

[Aviador]

So i'm a little baffled by this decision. Spain are reporting rises in cases around the Barcelona and Madrid areas and that it is.

And we've got this government putting a blanket ban on the whole of Spain which includes Balearics and Canaries? So despite the canary islands been between 1066nm and 1213nm away from BCN, the place that is widely effected, we still have this ban.

This to me is a knee jerk reaction with Priti *fu**ing useless* Patel leading the way. She wants to be seen to be doing something. Despite having nearly 10/11 weeks of allowing 10,000 people into the country with no track and trace, no isolating nothing. Then all of a sudden Spain are seeing a local spike and everyone has to isolate for 2 weeks on the return. Shambles. Over reaction with no thought process behind it at all. I mean i'd like to say i'm not shocked this is coming from a government full of incapable, incompetent fools.

It isn't a blanket ban.

As per the Foreign Travel Advise on the Government Website

From 26 July, the FCO advises against all non-essential travel to mainland Spain based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks. Only the Canary Islands (Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa) and Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera) are exempt from the FCO advice against all non-essential international travel.

So unless this changes again, people can still travel to the Spanish Islands without quarantining.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

It isn't a blanket ban.

As per the Foreign Travel Advise on the Government Website

From 26 July, the FCO advises against all non-essential travel to mainland Spain based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks. Only the Canary Islands (Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa) and Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera) are exempt from the FCO advice against all non-essential international travel.

So unless this changes again, people can still travel to the Spanish Islands without quarantining.

So that to me indicates we need them to appear in the Press/call a press conference and tell everyone this fact. The government are contradicting themselves (as usual) and the press are also contradicting. It's getting all mixed up. Does the DFT align with the FCO?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It isn't a blanket ban.

As per the Foreign Travel Advise on the Government Website

From 26 July, the FCO advises against all non-essential travel to mainland Spain based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks. Only the Canary Islands (Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa) and Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera) are exempt from the FCO advice against all non-essential international travel.

So unless this changes again, people can still travel to the Spanish Islands without quarantining.

That's how I first read it last night, but the BBC is still saying that people returning to the UK from mainland Spain and the Canary and Balearic Islands must quarantine.

Coronavirus: Tui scraps holidays to mainland Spain over quarantine

The travel industry reacts with dismay to the 14-day quarantine for travellers arriving from Spain.

www.bbc.co.uk

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is advising against all but essential travel to mainland Spain. Quarantine measures apply to those returning from mainland Spain, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, such as Majorca and Ibiza.

 

[Aviador]

That is most bizarre as the advise on the government website is clear, Only the Canary Islands (Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Graciosa) and Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera) are exempt from the FCO advice against all non-essential international travel.

Ah despite in one breath they say the Islands are exempt , in the next breath it goes on to say "If you are returning from Spain (including from the Balearics and Canaries) on or after 26 July you will be required to quarantine on your return to the UK"

So @Sherburnflyer92 you are absolutely correct.

This is ridiculous. Why don't they just tell people not to travel to the effected areas?

 

[Aviador]

So that to me indicates we need them to appear in the Press/call a press conference and tell everyone this fact. The government are contradicting themselves (as usual) and the press are also contradicting. It's getting all mixed up. Does the DFT align with the FCO?

So in fact the press are not contradicting themselves, the government are.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

So in fact the press are not contradicting themselves, the government are.

This government contradicting themselves. God someone will tell me next that waters wet. All they seem to have done for the last 6 months.

 

[gulftraveller]

It should have been better explained by the government but it is actually not contradictory. Quarantine and travel advice against visiting a country are different issues. The advice not to travel to the mainland affects insurance for passengers departing after the announcement. If you are travelling to the Balearics or the Canaries, insurance should not be affected (depending on company policies).

 

[JENNYJET]

As always, check the conditions in the insurance contract. They are worded in a way that most people give up at Clause two, usually before the exclusion and voiding of the policy if pertinent advice is ignored. However, advice is not an instruction so it is arguable in court that the clarity of said advice from government is suspect and should be disregarded. The risk lies with the policy holder.

 

[Aviador]

It should have been better explained by the government but it is actually not contradictory. Quarantine and travel advice against visiting a country are different issues. The advice not to travel to the mainland affects insurance for passengers departing after the announcement. If you are travelling to the Balearics or the Canaries, insurance should not be affected (depending on company policies).

If it says rules are "exempt" for the Canaries and Balearics in one sentence then says you need to quarantine from the Canaries and Balearics in another. If that's not contradictory I don't know what is.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

If it says rules are "exempt" for the Canaries and Balearics in one sentence then says you need to quarantine from the Canaries and Balearics in another. If that's not contradictory I don't know what is.

I agree that it could have been spelt out more clearly. Simply put, everyone returning to the UK from the Spanish mainland or its islands will have to quarantine but, additionally, the FCO is advising against all but essential travel to mainland Spain.