The President of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, has requested the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Arancha González Laya and Reyes Maroto, to create safe and direct air corridors between the Canary Islands and the United Kingdom.
This was stated in a statement after this country decided to advise its citizens not to travel to Spain, except to the Canary and Balearic Islands, but, upon return, to subject all its citizens to a 14-day quarantine.
The Canary Islands is one of the areas in Europe with the lowest incidence of COVID-19, with 5.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which makes it one of the safest destinations to spend your holidays this summer.
This action has also been coordinated with the President of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol. In addition to all these efforts, Ángel Víctor Torres maintains open communication with representatives of the United Kingdom, once this country has decreed a quarantine for all travelers returning from Spain.
However, in the same decision, the British Government clarifies that the Canary and Balearic Islands are excluded from the recommendation to its citizens not to travel to Spain, that is, they can continue to do so as planned. The aim now is that, upon their return, these citizens do not have to undergo a quarantine upon arrival in their country, after enjoying their holidays in the Canary Islands.
Simultaneously, the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla, has also held a first conversation with the British Ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliot, to request more details on this decision and convey the need to maintain a direct and safe round trip route.
Castilla believes that, if finally applied, this measure would be detrimental to the Canary Islands due to the repercussions it has for the tourism sector at a time when it was beginning to recover some connectivity with the United Kingdom, the main issuing country to the Islands, under the shelter of the good epidemiological data and the image of security that has been conveyed.
Throughout the evening, different cabinets of the Government of the Canary Islands maintain permanent open communications with the State Administration, the British Embassy and with the Secretary of State for the European Union to assert the exceptional situation of the archipelago, where entry by boat and plane is very controlled, with low prevalence of COVID-19.
