Covid-19: Canary Islands added to UK quarantine list

Travellers returning to the UK from Spain's Canary Islands from Saturday morning must self-isolate for two weeks, the transport secretary has said.

Grant Shapps said this was because of rising infection rates on the islands.

The Canary Islands are popular with winter holidaymakers, being one of the few parts of Europe warm enough for beach holidays.

Travellers to mainland Spain already have to isolate.

The restrictions will be in place from 04:00 GMT on Saturday 12 December.

Industry body Airlines UK has previously said the islands were "hugely important" for winter travel and represent "over 50% of bookings for some tour operators".

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Botswana have been added to the UK's safe travel corridor list, meaning travellers will not need to self isolate if arriving from these places after 04:00 on Saturday.

The Department for Transport said there had been a "sharp increase" in the number of positive coronavirus tests in the Canary Islands, which had been added to the government's safe travel list in October.

More than 800 people are waiting to find out if their Tui holidays to Tenerife tomorrow morning will be cancelled, because the Foreign Office has not yet decided whether to also advise against travel to the islands.

Between 06:00 and 11:00 on Friday morning, six flights from various English airports are due to fly out to Tenerife with package holidaymakers.

If the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against travel to the Canary Islands, Tui will cancel all holidays immediately as this change invalidates travel insurance.

It also expects to cancel its entire Christmas holiday schedule.

That would be a blow for the operator which announced losses of €3bn (£2.74bn) on Thursday.

At the moment, Tui has received no guidance on how to proceed.

For UK airlines and tour operators, the winter gloom has just deepened.

The Canary Islands are a vital market for winter travel, a magnet for holidaymakers trying to escape the chill back home.

With the industry in the throes of an unprecedented crisis that trade is badly needed.

So the removal of the canaries from the list of safe travel corridors so soon before the Christmas holidays will come as a bitter blow.

Returning passengers will now have to self-isolate.

New rules that come into force next week will allow them to reduce the isolation period if they take a negative test after five days - but the test will have to be done privately, and will come at a cost.

The quarantine change comes ahead of the government's new "Test and Release" programme next week, which will allow travellers arriving into England to reduce their quarantine by more than half if they pay for a Covid test after five days.

The rules will come into force from 15 December and the tests from private firms will cost between £65 and £120.

England has also introduced a quarantine exemption for certain categories of travellers, including people making high-value business trips, sports stars and performing arts professionals.

The Canary Islands and the Maldives were added to the government's safe travel list in October.

The reversal of this decision will come as a blow to UK travel businesses, who have pinned hope on a revival in holidays and revenue for Christmas and winter holidays to the Canaries.

A number of operators saw a large uplift in bookings to places such as Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria when the Canaries were reopened for safe travel.

Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said: "It's utterly devastating news for the thousands of British travellers who booked to go to the Canaries for Christmas and New Year.

"It's also a body blow for travel firms who'd seen an uplift in bookings for the winter after the Canaries were added to the travel corridor list.

"It now means thousands of refunds and lost bookings for a sector that needed the Canaries to help them recover."

Airline Easyjet chief executive Johan Lundgren said that the news would be "disappointing for many customers booked to travel to the Canary Islands from the UK in the coming weeks."

Customers wishing to transfer their flights without a fee must do so within a week, he said.