Confusion in the regulation of flights to Spain from the United Kingdom

Barcelona / MadridThe State Secretariat for Communication announced on Monday that incoming flights from the UK were "suspended", but the reality is that Spaniards living in the UK and British people living in Spain can fly to a Spanish airport. The suspension is a fact, however, in France, Germany or Belgium, which do not allow even their citizens to fly from the UK and have also banned trains, which is causing the disruption of supply chains, according to the European Commission. The Spanish Council of Ministers approved the restrictions on Tuesday, and they will be in force from 6pm today until 5 January at the same time. In particular, in addition to Spanish citizens and British residents, Andorran citizens or those residing in Andorra may travel to Spain.

This was explained by the minister spokesperson, María Jesús Montero, during the press conference following the Council of Ministers after Monday's confusion. She said that the limitations are in line with the recommendations of the European Commission, which is asking states not to suspend flights to guarantee the return of people and not to have to repatriate them and guarantee the health of citizens. In particular, Brussels recommends coordinated action on movement restrictions, taking into account that non-essential travel is discouraged, but that transit should be facilitated.

At the same time, it calls for an end to bans on flights and trains, also to avoid disruption of the supply chain. But Germany unilaterally announced on Tuesday that it was extending the restrictions to all travel from Britain (not from the UK, because Northern Ireland is not included) until 6 January.

Sources admit to the ARA that there has been a communication problem from the Spanish government and that Madrid, once it became clear on Monday that there was no coordinated decision at a European level, chose not to suspend the flights, because it was a "less damaging" decision for those affected and to avoid the scenes of Spaniards being trapped abroad that occurred during the first lockdown, last March. However, by keeping flights restricted the problem is basically left in the hands of the commercial decisions of the airlines.

Enric Botella, a 29-year-old journalist based in London, flew to Barcelona on Saturday, before Boris Johnson announced the harsh lockdown for the new strain of coronavirus. He has a return ticket for December 28 but does not know if the company will guarantee it. "When I connected my mobile at the airport I had messages from friends asking me if I had arrived safely and I didn't understand anything". He does not think he will have administrative problems to return, because he has a residence permit as a European that he had to process through Brexit. "If there is a problem it will be to travel if the flights are cancelled or whatever. I'm waiting for the company to decide".

In fact, the government argued that it took the decision in a coordinated manner with Portugal, but Lisbon did not speak of suspending flights, but rather of restricting foreign citizens. The Portuguese reference company, TAP, has continued to fly to the country, although Portuguese citizens have not been spared the chaos in the UK with long queues and multiple cancellations.

Not travelling due to "responsibility"

Ramon Lamarca, manager of a service at the Royal Hospital in London, had planned to spend Christmas in Catalonia travelling by car, because he foresaw difficulties at airports. However, finally he decided to cancel the car trip due to the closure of the French borders: "With my wife we had thought of coming by car, to avoid last-minute inconveniences. But on Saturday, France closed its borders and, moreover, there is a point of responsibility, because from what we have read this British strain is very infectious and it would seem irresponsible to me to travel. It is one of the things that went wrong in the first wave and spreading strains from other countries can be a disaster. My mother is 80 years old and I do not want to put her at risk, but in the end it is the whole population that is exposed. This Christmas we are staying in London".

Also out of responsibility Lola Moreno, a 57 year old computer programmer, has decided to stay in London this Christmas instead of travelling to Almeria with her husband and two children. "We don't want to infect my parents with the virus and it's very difficult to fly. We didn't want to risk buying tickets in advance because we already imagined what would happen. And besides, my family won't be reunited either because many have essential jobs or are in contact with children, and they don't want to infect their parents", she explains. In the summer she already had to suspend the trip she had planned, after having purchased tickets, because of the quarantine on the return from Spain that was imposed by the United Kingdom from one day to another.