By Andrew Atkinson
Ryanair will fly into Spain on June 21 – as the country opens its borders – amid the coronavirus pandemic that lead to global travel lockdown in March.
“Although we are officially back with 1,000 daily flights from July 1, across the network, some routes are starting from June 21,” said a spokesperson from Ryanair.
Flights will restart on June 21 as Spain lifts its border restrictions – with a flight to Alicante-Elche scheduled to leave East Midlands Airport on Sunday June 21 at 3.45pm.
Ryanair have 16 scheduled flights to and from EMA until the end of June. A flight from Manchester Airport to Tenerife is also scheduled for June 21.
On June 19 the Spanish airport authority said holidaymakers coming into Spain from June 21 will have to pass three health checks. No mention of any enforced quarantine was made for British holidaymakers arriving, in the wake of COVID-19.
The first control will be a document that travellers must fill in with information on their location during their trip, and whether or not they have had coronavirus.
The second and third controls will involve having their temperature taken at the arrival airport and a visual inspection.
If a passenger fails one of the three checks, he or she will be seen by a doctor.
The news comes after Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Arancha González Laya said Spain might have to consider imposing a 14-day quarantine on British holidaymakers visiting Spain once the borders reopened on June 21, as the UK was doing the same with Spanish arrivals.
From July 1 Ryanair will operate flights to key holiday airports in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Cyprus. New safety measures include face masks to be worn on board.
CEO Michael O’Leary said thousands of British families have booked holidays in Portugal, Spain and Italy for summer.
Ryanair’s chief executive Eddie Wilson said: “After four months of lockdown we welcome these moves by governments in Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus to open their borders, remove travel restrictions and scrap ineffective quarantines.
“Irish and British families, who have been subject to lockdown for the last 10 weeks can now look forward to booking their much needed family holiday.”
