This weekend, the government of the United Kingdom reimplemented its 14-day quarantine policy for passengers arriving from Spain amid the rising cases of coronavirus in the Mediterranean country. Despite the change of circumstances, British Airways and easyJet say they will still operate their planned flight schedule to the nation.
Carrier plans
According to Reuters, British Airways told customers yesterday that it does not intend to cancel flights over the coming days. Altogether, the flag carrier of the UK expects all flights to operate normally, despite authorities warning against all essential travel to Spain.
Additionally, an easyJet customer service representative shared that the firm also plans to operate its full schedule in the coming days. The low-cost carrier heavily relies upon traffic to continental Europe, and it is ramping up its network this summer amid the relaxation in restrictions.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, TUI, Europe’s largest tour operator, is not so keen to keep up its Spanish program amid this weekend’s changes. It shared that it was canceling all holiday departures scheduled for Sunday.
Challenging times
Overall, there will undoubtedly be many travelers in a tough situation going forward. The government previously stated that there would be no quarantine for passengers returning to the UK from Spain. So, people purposely booked tickets to the country as they understood that they wouldn’t have to be isolated when arriving back home.
However, within an instant, this is no longer the case. Subsequently, those who were at the airport yesterday evening would have found themselves subject to the new rules if they arrived back in the UK today.
The general public only has a limited amount of annual leave that they can take from their places of work. So, there are going to be some hard conversations with office management since several people will be spending two extra weeks at home.
The struggle continues
Understandably, the government wants to be proactive in preventing the spread of the virus. However, this immediate action will cause distrust among passengers. Above all, it may deter them from flying again until the pandemic is at its tail end.
Officials implemented travel corridors as a way to balance aviation activity following pressure from airlines. Carriers and passengers alike were glad that policy had shifted. However, they will now be frustrated that the rules have been reverted so quickly.
Simple Flying reached out to British Airways and easyJet for comment on these reports. BA confirmed that it will continue to operate. We will update the article with any further announcements from easyJet.
What are your thoughts about the United Kingdom’s sudden overturn in its quarantine policy for Spain? Has the decision from the government impacted you? Let us know what you think of the situation in the comment section.