IATA calls UK’s Spain travel quarantine a ‘big setback’ to recovery
Global aviation body the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has criticised the UK’s decision to reimpose a mandatory quarantine on travellers from Spain, saying the decision falls “short of the mark”.
Yesterday ministers took a snap decision to reinstate the 14-day self-isolation rules for the Iberian country due to a surge in new coronavirus cases.
The government said it had taken the decision to “limit any potential spread to the UK”, with fears of a second wave of cases across Europe growing.
Health minister Helen Whately said that the government had to act “rapidly and decisively” to limit the chance of spreading the infection.
However, the decision has prompted serious concern from some quarters, with many especially worried about the damage that the decision could do to the already-battered tourism and travel sectors.
In a statement, IATA said that the UK’s actions were “a big setback for consumer confidence that is essential to drive a recovery”.
“[The move] does not accurately reflect the risk of a regional spike in one corner of the country”, it added.
Instead, governments should work together to “isolate and precisely manage risks”, it said, rather than taking a “stop-and-go” approach to restrictions.
Whately added that the UK would “take action” to impose the same restrictions on other countries where necessary, with France and Germany already being mooted as likely to follow Spain.
The rise in cases in Spain has been focused mainly on its prosperous north-eastern regions such as Barcelona, with Catalonia reporting 921 new cases in the last week.
By contrast, yesterday alone there were 747 new confirmed cases in the UK.
According to the Telegraph, 15 of the country’s 19 regions have shown an increase in cases in the last seven days.
However, World Health Organization emergencies programme head Matt Ryan said the current increase in cases was nowhere near as bad as it had been at the pandemic’s peak.
The move sent European markets tumbling this morning, with travel stocks once again hammered by fears that more restrictions would follow.
IAG, which owns BA, Ryanair and Easyjet all fell around 10 per cent due to the ban.