A Ryanair aircraft lands on the southern runway at Gatwick Airport in Crawley

A Ryanair aircraft lands on the southern runway at Gatwick Airport in Crawley | Peter Nicholls

Humphrey CarterPalma01/02/2022 10:34
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Today sees travel restrictions for Britons coming to Spain change. Some have called it an easing, others a ramping up. In a nutshell, people aged over 12 have to present proof of full vaccination including the booster to enter Spain without any hassle - although the Spanish government has repeated that the authorities still have the powers to stop and test arrivals as they see fit.

For example, as a result of Spain’s new demands, an estimated 40,000 people in Ireland cannot come to Spain because they have not had the booster and one would presume that the figure in the UK is even higher. And the market which will be hardest hit, apart from those who have chosen not to get vaccinated, will be families with young teenage children who have not had the full jab packet.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged governments to accelerate relaxation of travel restrictions as Covid continues to evolve from the pandemic to endemic stage.

According to IATA, the results of a recently published study by Oxera and Edge Health demonstrated the extremely limited impact of travel restrictions on controlling the spread of Omicron and therefore Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, claims it is time to start lifting all restrictions.

He said that the money spent on testing people would be better spent on vaccine distribution or strengthening health care systems. It would also boost tourism.