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ARCHIVED - Jet2 cancels Canary Islands flights from England; travel corridor closed again due to covid
Tourism in the Canaries reeling from the body blow of new lockdown in England and thousands of English holidaymakers disappointed
Just a week after a safe travel corridor was backed the UK government has effectively closed it
The tourism sector of the Spanish economy, which before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic accounted for over 11 per cent of the country’s GDP, continues to suffer a disastrous 2020, and any hopes that traditional winter sun holidays in the Canary Islands might at least salvage something from the year would now appear to have been dashed by the second wave of the virus and the newly announced lockdown restrictions in the United Kingdom.
When it was finally announced that a tourism corridor had been created in order to allow winter sunseekers to head to the islands from northern Europe, taking advantage of the fact that the Canaries currently have by far the lowest rate of infection in Spain, there was optimism that hotels and other businesses in the sector, on which the islands are especially dependent, might enjoy something approaching a “normal” winter. But according to Ashotel, an association representing hotels and other tourist accommodation businesses in Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro (Ashotel), the new restrictions announced in England and the latest recommendations issued by the German government have come as a “body blow” to these hopes.
The UK and Germany usually account for the bulk of international winter tourism in the islands, and with domestic lockdowns in force in mainland regions of Spain it is safe to assume that the domestic market is also effectively closed off, at least for the time being. Ashotel president Juan Pablo González concludes that the hoped-for recovery will be severely affected, while of course expressing the hope that the lockdown in England will be as short-lived as possible – a sentiment doubtless echoed by those confined to their homes in the UK! – and that at least part of the winter season will see a re-opening of the international tourism sector in Europe.
The truth of the matter is, though, that after months in which the regional government in the Canaries has done everything within its power to promote the archipelago as a safe destination, introducing testing on arrival for tourists arriving there among other initiatives, these latest developments come as a great disappointment. Bars and hotels had begun to re-open in anticipation of the arrival of thousands of sunseekers, staff were being taken on again after months on the Spanish government’s “ERTE” furlough scheme and after the safe travel corridor received the backing of the UK government just over a week ago it was reported that there was enormous demand for flights to and from the islands.
Now, however, the whole situation has been plunged back into uncertainty, due to the wording of the new English lockdown under the travel section of the new restrictions which says: “Overnight stays and holidays away from primary residences will not be allowed. This includes holidays abroad and in the UK. It also means you cannot stay in a second home, if you own one, or staying with anyone you do not live with or are in a support bubble with.”
On Tuesday there was a surge of hope when the Foreign Office published amended guidelines for travellers to the Canary Islands, which come into force on 14th November, giving hope that the island travel corridor would permit travellers to holiday in the islands after all, but by Wednesday it had been confirmed that this was not the case and Jet2 promptly cancelled all services to the islands from England until after December 2nd. Flights are still going ahead from Glasgow, edinburgh and Belfast at the moment.
Flights and holidays will resume from the 3rd, according to a statement from the company.
So for the time being those who had planned to visit the Canaries from the UK in November have had to face the fact that their holidays are cancelled until the lockdown is over. Airlines such as Jet2 Holidays and Tui have confirmed that they will not transport holidaymakers abroad against government instructions, and although full refunds are being offered on bookings this will come as little consolation to the frustrated travellers or to those in the Canaries who were preparing to welcome them.
There is obviously a risk for those booking holidays that the English lockdown may extend into December, although obviously it may not; everything depends on how the evolution of the pandemic pans out in the UK.
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