Brits told NOT to travel to Majorca, Ibiza and the Canary Islands in sweeping U-turn

BRITS were tonight told NOT to travel to Spain’s islands of Majorca, Ibiza and the Canary Islands in another Government U-turn.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office changed their advice to warn against non-essential travel to the whole of Spain, based on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks in the country – with no notice to travellers.

Spain’s Canary islands could soon become exempt from quarantine rules when Brits return to the UK

Previously Brits were allowed to visit the islands including Ibiza, Majorca, Tenerife and Lanzarote – but as of Tuesday evening this advice has now changed and only essential journeys are advised.

If they are returning from anywhere in Spain, they will have to isolate for two weeks when they get back to the UK.

However, the news is good for holidaymakers who wanted to cancel their trips to the Spanish islands, as it should make it easier to get refunds.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said tonight: “We have considered the overall situation for British nationals travelling to and from the Balearic and Canary Islands, including the impact of the requirement to self-isolate on return to the UK, and concluded that we should advise British nationals against all non-essential travel to the whole of Spain.”

It comes as:

• Grant Shapps announced he would cut short his family holiday in Spain to get back to the UK – but would isolate for 14 days on his rteurn
• Thousands of holidays remain in limbo today as people struggle to get refunds or change their bookings
• Spain demanded to be put back on the safe list, saying it had its case numbers under control
• No10 today warned that no travel was “risk free” in the current climate

It came hours after a chaotic day where it was rumoured that the Spanish islands might be removed from the quarantine rules altogether because of the lower numbers of Covid cases there.

Spanish officials said the islands should not be included in a blanket ban on return from Spain and that they were in talks with the UK about a change.

A Whitehall source close to the discussions told HOAR just a few hours earlier today: “They are considering an exemption to the Balearic and Canary Islands.

“Their rates are lower so it may be on the cards – but the announcement may not come until the weekly review.

“There has been some debate as to whether they should be included as there is a lot of traffic between the mainland and the islands, and that’s where the issue is.

“But it will be a decision for the Covid group chaired by the PM but that’s being actively discussed.”

Last week’s review took place on Friday – but the Government didn’t announce the changes until the Saturday evening.

No10 said today: “No travel is risk-free during this pandemic. Anyone travelling abroad should be aware that our travel advice and exemption list is under constant review as we monitor the international situation”.

Paul Charles, founder of the travel PR consultancy firm PC Agency, told The Times that people were cancelling their bookings in caution. He said: “People are cancelling not just Spain but other short-haul bookings.

“We’ve heard of lots of cancellations for holidays to France, Italy and Greece.”

Brits are being warned not to cancel their own holidays to Spain as they may be left out of pocket, and to wait for tour operators to cancel them.

However, families who have booked flights and hotels separately may not get their money back as both remain operational.