Spain to lift travel ban on UK arrivals from next week
Spain is set to lift a ban on arrivals from Britain from 30 March, three months after suspending flights from the UK following concerns over the Kent Covid strain.
A ban on all UK arrivals to Spain by air and sea has been in place since 22 December. Government spokeswoman Maria Jesus Montero told a news conference that while restrictions on flights from South Africa and Brazil would be extended until 13 April amid concerns over new Covid variants, they would be lifted for Britain.
Passengers traveling to Spain from the UK will have to show a negative coronavirus test taken 72 hours before travel.
Foreign holidays out of the UK are still banned under the current “stay at home” rules, with international travel not set to resume until at least 17 May under the Prime Minister’s roadmap for leaving lockdown.
However, the government yesterday extended a legal ban on foreign travel until July, with anyone attempting to leave the country facing fines of up to £5,000 under tightened border restrictions. MPs are set to vote on the new legislation on Thursday.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said the fresh restrictions were necessary to protect Britain against the importation of a swathe of new variants sweeping across the continent which might put the vaccine rollout at risk.
France saw its biggest one-day jump in cases since November yesterday, while Italy last week became the third country in Europe to exceed 100,000 deaths as it heads into yet another national lockdown.
The surge is cases across the bloc has sparked fears that low EU vaccination rates could lead to the creation of new variants capable of evading current vaccines.
Just 12 per cent of adults in the EU have received their first Covid vaccine, compared to around 50 per cent of Britain’s adult population.
A travel taskforce headed up by Michael Gove will present its recommendations for the resumption of travel to the government on 12 April, though it looks increasingly likely that summer holidays overseas will be cancelled.
Professor Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Modelling group, told the BBC: “International travel this summer is, for the average holidaymaker, sadly I think, extremely unlikely.
“We are running a real risk if we do start to have lots of people going overseas in July, for instance, and August, because of the potential for bringing more of these new variants back into the country.”
However, Boris Johnson is facing growing pressure from backbencher MPs to outline an easing of restrictions on international travel.
Former cabinet minister David Davis backed an “intelligent block on countries that have got third waves” rather than extending a blanket ban on overseas travel.
He added: “You use vaccination passports, plus testing, plus quarantine, plus absolute blocks on high-risk countries. That’s the suite of things we should use.”
Meanwhile Huw Merriman, chairman of the transport select committee, said: “Given the success of the UK’s vaccine rollout, it’s essential we hold firm to our dates and give a dividend in the form of international summer travel.
“This will give everyone a lift and help preserve jobs in the travel industry.”