A group of 80 British holidaymakers have been forced to quarantine despite their trip being to the ‘safe’ location of Gibraltar. The travelers were unable to fly home as anticipated due to bad weather delaying the flight overnight. As not enough accommodation was available in the British territory, easyJet bussed them over the border to spend the night in Spain. They must now spend 14 days in self-isolation on return to the UK.
Quarantine woes for one group of fliers
The ever-changing quarantine situation in the UK is frustrating at best, with those who booked a cheeky summer getaway suddenly discovering that they have to self-isolate for two weeks on their return. With people getting back to work and the new school term just around the corner, the impact of this unexpected rule change has left many in a pickle.
But for one group of travelers, the quarantine restrictions were forced upon them, not by a sudden governmental rule change but by an airline. Frustrated Brits returning from Gibraltar, which is not subject to quarantine restrictions, found themselves at the mercy of a two-week isolation due to a delayed flight.
The travelers were booked to fly back to the UK from the British territory with low-cost carrier easyJet. However, bad weather forced the airline to cancel the flight, leaving the 80 passengers stranded.
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No room on the Rock
With a responsibility to provide overnight accommodation for its passengers, easyJet had to find a hotel. However, with limited accommodation options on Gibraltar, there weren’t enough rooms for the passengers for the night.
As such, they were faced with the option of either roughing it at the airport for the night or heading into mainland Spain to a hotel provided by the airline. 80 passengers boarded a bus and were taken to Cadiz across the border to spend the night.
While Gibraltar has been largely COVID free, with just 31 active cases at the end of last week, Spain has not fared so well. More than 7,000 cases were declared to be active yesterday, with over 2,400 registered in the previous 24 hours. The country was scrapped from the UK’s safe travel corridor list last month, meaning those who have been in the country will now have to quarantine.
Although the passengers were not holidaying in Spain, the fact that they spent the night there means they will now have to quarantine for two weeks.
Out of easyJet’s control
While the situation is unfortunate for this group of passengers, it’s not something that can be blamed on the airline. Bad weather and full hotels are out of easyJet’s control, and it handled the situation as best it could. The airline told the Sun newspaper that,
“As a result of low visibility weather conditions in Gibraltar easyJet had to delay flight EZY8906 to Gatwick overnight. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our highest priority and we would never operate a flight unless it is safe to do so.
“We tried to provide as many hotel rooms in Gibraltar as possible however, due to a shortage of rooms it was not possible to provide these for all customers so we offered accommodation in Spain for those who wanted it. Some customers found accommodation themselves in Gibraltar and easyJet will reimburse the cost to them.
“Whilst the delay was outside of our control, we would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused as a result of the weather. easyJet has a number of bio security measures in place for onboard the aircraft including the mandatory wearing of masks.”
It’s not the first time passengers have been caught out with quarantine rules. A couple of weeks ago, an SAS flight landed in Norway 60 seconds too late for passengers to escape quarantine, and despite a rush to book travel when France was added to the list, thousands of Brits were left with no choice but to isolate.
While the travel industry desperately needs people to get moving again, the message from the government is clear. Expect disruption, and if you can’t afford two weeks of isolation when you return, it’s probably best not to go at all.