Sturgeon opens up air links... but not to Spain!
Dismay in tourism sector as First Minister clears 57 hols destinations for take-off... but not Spain
SCOTS sun-seekers are finally to be allowed to jump on a flight for a summer holiday – as long it’s not to our most popular destination.
Spain has been ruled out by Nicola Sturgeon unless holidaymakers are prepared to quarantine for 14 days on their return.
The First Minister yesterday gave the green light for 57 of the 59 countries announced by the UK Government last week as safe to travel to using ‘air bridges’.
Flights to Greece, Croatia, France and Turkey as well as further afield are now set to fill up from tomorrow as lockdown-weary Scots finally get to the beaches.
Anyone heading to these 57 countries is safe to return to normal life when they come home, but anyone going to Serbia or Spain, including the popular Canary Islands, will have to self-isolate for two weeks when they get back.
Miss Sturgeon said yesterday it had been a ‘very difficult decision’ to make.
Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said: ‘The news that Spain is not on the list of air bridges will come as a blow to the aviation sector and our tourism industry, with Spain representing a huge proportion of restart plans.’
SCOTS holidaymakers were yesterday given the green light to head to the sun – as long as it is not Spain.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced ‘air bridges’ which will allow people to travel abroad without facing 14 days of self-isolation on their return.
It comes after people in England were told last week they could fly to 59 countries from tomorrow without the need to quarantine.
Trips to France, Italy, Greece, Croatia and even South Korea, have been given the green light – but the Spanish mainland and islands are excluded due to their ‘significantly higher’ Covid rate. Serbia has also been excluded.
Anyone arriving from these countries must self-isolate for 14 days.
The announcement has sparked a backlash, with Scotland’s tourism sector warning it is a major ‘blow’ and ‘threat’ to the industry.
Fears have also been raised that it could confuse Spanish tourists who will be forced to quarantine if they choose to holiday in Scotland but not south of the Border.
Miss Sturgeon said yesterday it had been a ‘very difficult decision’ to make, but added: ‘If you are upset at me because you don’t have the certainty of being able to go to Spain on holiday over the next few weeks, remember this is about trying to stop people getting a deadly, damaging virus.’
She also warned Scots not to travel to English airports to get around restrictions as passenger information forms will still be required under Home Office rules.
This will allow health officials to conduct follow-up checks with those travelling back to Scotland , which means they could face fines of up to £5,000.
Miss Sturgeon said the Scottish Government ‘cannot in good conscience lift restrictions’ for arrivals from Serbia and Spain.
However, tourism bosses have raised serious concerns that the decision could have long-term impacts for aviation.
Holidays to Spain accounted for a total of 25.8 per cent of all overseas holidays taken by Scots in 2018, making it Scotland’s most popular overseas destination.
A total of 1.1million trips were made to Spain by Scottish travellers in 2018, spending £711.5million between them.
In turn, Spanish holidaymakers are the fifth biggest international market to Scotland as a tourism destination, with 205,000 visits in 2018. They brought in almost £80million to the Scottish economy in 2018 and stayed for an average of almost six days per trip.
Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: ‘We’re glad to finally have clarity on an issue which has dragged on for too long and we welcome restrictions being lifted on travel between some countries as we have always favoured a targeted rather than a blanket approach.
‘However, it does still pose some serious questions and threats to the industry with the exclusion of Spain. This is one of Scotland’s biggest and most important destinations for inward and outward tourism, and that impacts on airline decisions about where to base their fleet.’
Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, said: ‘The news that Spain is not on the list of air bridges announced will come as a blow to the aviation sector and our tourism industry, with Spain representing a huge proportion of restart plans.’
Miss Sturgeon insisted she was ‘acutely aware of how important international travel is for our tourist sector and aviation industry’.
She said she hoped to add Spain, as well as Serbia, at the next review point on July 20.
However, she also warned that countries could be taken off the list at short notice if they witnessed a spike in coronavirus cases
– with Scots encouraged to consider the fact that rules could change when they are on holiday, meaning they may be forced to seek extra time off work to quarantine with little notice.
With Scotland expected to enter stage three of a four-phase lockdown exit plan today, the First Minister argued that the importation of new cases from abroad was ‘one of our biggest risk factors’.
Miss Sturgeon said it was now estimated that for every 100,000 people in Scotland, 28 currently have coronavirus. This is compared with 128 across the UK as a whole, and about 330 in Spain – a ‘significantly higher prevalence’ of the condition.
Scottish Tory economy spokesman Maurice Golden said: ‘There’s no escaping the fact one key market has been missed out, and that will spell holiday misery for many, and could impact our economy.
‘Other parts of the UK will be flying to Spain without these quarantine measures , and holidaymakers here will wonder why it’s not happening here.’
Comment – Page 20
‘A blow to our tourism industry’