Some 1.8m holidaymakers are facing uncertainty amid new government quarantine rules that force British people visiting Spain into a two-week self-isolation period upon their return home.
Ministers have stood by their shock decision, announced on Saturday evening, to once again introduce a 14-day self-isolation period for British holidaymakers returning home after visiting Spain.
Coinciding with what would, in normal times, have been the first week of the six-week summer break, the announcement plunged would-be holidaymakers – and those already abroad – into uncertainty.
Close to 1.8 million holidays are likely to have been thrown into chaos by the move, according to travel company The PC Agency, which analysed the number of seats booked on flights leaving the UK for Spain between July 26 and August 31.
Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said the abrupt introduction of the new rules “created a sense of panic and loss of control”, the BBC reported.
As well as impacting families, many of whom would have booked trips months before the pandemic struck to mark the end of the school year, there are concerns for the thousands of people who now may not be able to work for a fortnight after their holiday.
The government is asking employers to be “understanding” of workers who need to self-isolate, but there are no guarantees employees will be allowed to work from home.
Thomas-Symonds added: “The government should have proper contingency plans to support people coming home where there is no guarantee their employers will allow them 14 days of work flexibility.
“And it is high time that a sector-specific deal for aviation is introduced as quarantine measures continue to affect the travel industry.”
Speaking to BBC Radio 4′s Today programme on Monday morning the shadow home secretary also urged the government to introduce “smarter measures” at the border as opposed to a blanket quarantine policy for those returning from Spain.
Passengers arriving to Gatwick Airport from Spain on Sunday morning expressed their frustration at the change to travel quarantine rules.
Those disembarking from a flight from Barcelona that landed shortly before 9am now face two weeks of self-isolation.
Jill Witte, 53, arriving back in the country with her two daughters and husband, said the quarantine rule changes would “massively” inconvenience the family.
“We were shocked, it didn’t look like that was coming, otherwise we wouldn’t have gone,” she said.
Another 24-year-old traveller from Surrey, who only gave her name as Hannah, said the rule change would affect family plans and her work.
“We were supposed to return work at the beginning of August, so I’m now going to have to stay away again for another week,” she said.
Self-employed roofer Malcolm Bembridge told of his frustration at the news he would have to quarantine for two weeks after his one-week holiday in Spain because he “needs to go back to work”.
He flew home to Birmingham from Almeria on Sunday and said he had ordered a Covid test.
He told the PA news agency: “If I do the test and it comes back negative, then does that mean I can resume work or do I need to self isolate?”
He said he was hoping to employ someone to do the work he had scheduled but was frustrated at the money he would lose because of the need to self-isolate.
“It is bad timing because most people travel this time of year with kids as schools break up,” he said.
“Why don’t the government do testing at the airports?”
There are fears more European holidays could be thrown into disarray during “uncertainty” this summer, with The Telegraph reporting that officials in both France and Germany have warned of possible new lockdowns as parts of Europe braced for a second wave of Covid-19 infections.
French health authorities said at the weekend that the country’s R-rate was up to 1.3 and that daily new infections on Friday had risen to 1,130 – indicators resembling those seen in May, when France was coming out of its strict two-month lockdown.