Chaos as Britons struggle to leave locked-down Spain

Panic mirrors scenes in Italy, France and the US as countries seal themselves off to visitors amid increasing concern over spread of coronavirus pandemic

THE Spanish government’s decision to place the entire country under lockdown led to a scramble by thousands of British tourists to leave the country amid flight cancellations and chaos at some of the country’s airports as Spain grapples with the coronavirus outbreak.

Last year 18million UK tourists visited Spain, and there are likely to be hundreds of thousands of Britons in the country at any one time.

There was also uncertainty for tourists who are effectively stranded inside their hotels and apartments, waiting for further developments.

The number of cases of Covid-19 in Spain grew to 7,753 yesterday, and the death toll almost doubled within 24 hours to 288.

The state of emergency measures that came into force yesterday prevent people from walking on the streets or any public space, unless they can justify their journey as essential.

Conor Mcaree, a 38-year-old from Shrewsbury, told The Daily Telegraph there were scenes of chaos at Gran Canaria airport at the weekend caused by disruption to scheduled flights and thousands of British tourists anxious to leave Spain. Mr Mcaree and his partner arrived at the airport on Saturday evening to find that their easyjet flight to Manchester had been cancelled, although they said no one was able to tell them why.

“When we finally got through to someone on the easyjet helpline, we were told there were no more flights, and we should look at alternative bus or train routes home. We’re in the middle of the Atlantic,” Mr Mcaree said.

Yesterday they returned to Gran Canaria airport in the hope of finding a flight out, but to no avail. “There were thousands of people waiting around, some travelling out, others not, and no one was sure of what was going on. There were very few staff. It’s an awful time to be in Spain, stranded in a for- eign country, and it’s frightening that we are not where we should be. I have work commitments and vulnerable people at home.”

Large queues of tourists were also seen at Barcelona’s coach station, at- tempting to reach the airport and leave the country.

Spain’s airport authority said that 72 flights connecting with airports in the Canary Islands had been cancelled yesterday as visitors heeded warnings not to travel to Spanish destinations.

Police patrolled the beaches along Spain’s Mediterranean coast and in the Balearic and Canary islands holiday hotspots, ordering people to go back to their accommodation or issuing them with fines, which range from €100 (£91) up to €30,000 (£27,000), for breaking the quarantine conditions.

Barcelona police reported having closed and issued fines to more than 500 bars and other establishments that were breaking a regional order to shut down since Friday.

In some areas, including Madrid, police used drones with loudspeakers to shepherd people off the streets.

The UK consular service in Spain advised Britons to comply with all instructions, as hotel owners asked the government to refrain from ordering a sudden closure of all establishments.

In a statement asking to be allowed to carry out a “staggered and orderly closure”, Spain’s hoteliers’ association thanked the government for giving it time “so that we are not forced to throw out thousands of tourists who remain in hotels, including some who even have their main residence there”.

Italy yesterday recorded 368 new deaths in one day, which brings its total death toll from the virus to 1,809.

According to the latest figures provided by the Italian Civil Protection Department, the total number of confirmed infections rose by 16 per cent to 20,603. The northern Lombardy region remains the hardest hit, with over 1,200 deaths and more than half of the infected people located there. Meanwhile, in France, efforts are under way to help around 30,000 British tourists left stranded in Alpine resorts that closed on Saturday night.

The closures came hours after tour operators had seen thousands of new tourists arrive to begin ski breaks.

The holiday company Neilson called for the government to step in with “emergency measures” to help, after it was reported that police had told British tourists to go home immediately.

France recorded 29 virus deaths yesterday, the biggest one-day increase in the country since the outbreak began, bringing the total death toll to 120.

On Saturday, Edouard Philippe, the French prime minister, said all non-essential locations such as restaurants and nightclubs should be closed.

Meanwhile, a mid-air brawl broke out during a flight from Riyadh to Beirut when a passenger coughed towards a member of a Lebanese camera crew.

In the US, airports were thrown into chaos as screening measures for people returning from Europe came into force. British tourists in the US and those with trips planned were thrown into confusion as the US announced it was banning people travelling from the UK and Ireland from today.

Yesterday, Virgin Atlantic said it was “evaluating” what the US ban meant for its flight schedule, which was still unchanged by the afternoon.

However, the airline said it had waived its change fee for passengers who wished to move their flights to another date until the end of the year.

British Airways also said that passengers travelling between now and May 31 would be able to move their flight without charge over the next year.

Yesterday, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) announced it was putting most of its operations “on hold” due to the “non-existent” air travel caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The measures, which are the most extreme of any airline yet, will see 90 per cent of its staff temporarily laid off.