The Lanzarote Tourism Councilor, Ángel Vázquez, has been blunt when speaking about the decree approved last week by the Government of the Canary Islands, authorizing antigen tests as a valid test for people arriving to the archipelago from abroad. “The Canary Islands regulations are not above state regulations. If that decree is not validated by the Government of Spain, it is not valid, and that is what all the airlines say”, Vázquez warned.
“The national rule prevails, not the regional one, that is clear. And another detail, the Spanish Embassy says that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has to publish it”, added the councilor, thus pointing out that the rule announced on the 9th by the regional Executive, attending to the requests of the tourism business association, has not been useful.
In fact, the airlines themselves questioned this Monday that what it has done is create “confusion”, so they have asked the central Government and the Government of the Canary Islands to “agree”. In their case, they demand to bet on antigen tests, because they are faster and, above all, cheaper, although the central Government continues to reject them, because this type of test is indicated for people who have symptoms and during the first days, but not to detect asymptomatic people. For this reason, the test that continues to be required for all of Spain when entering from a country considered at risk continues to be the PCR, and the Canary Islands regulations have not managed to avoid it.
“We spoke with the president of the association of airlines (ALA) and he told us that they pay attention to the decree of the Government of Spain. It is logical, imagine that each community sends its situation to an embassy and to the airlines, that is crazy”, insisted Ángel Vázquez.
For her part, the president of Asolan, Susana Pérez, continues to trust that this Canary Islands regulation will prevail. “The Government of the Canary Islands is informing the airlines of the situation in the Canary Islands and we will see”, she pointed out.
However, until this Monday and almost a week after the approval of that decree, Pérez confirms that she has no knowledge of international tourists who have arrived with antigen tests and that “those who are arriving now are reservations that they had made before the decree and are coming with PCR”. “What is clear is that there is a Canary Islands regulation and any difference in this regard needs to be clarified as soon as possible,” she claimed.
“I cannot leave minors stranded in London”
Regarding what happened with the two young people from Lanzarote who have had problems returning to the island after a trip to London, the Tourism Councilor has clarified that this regulation is not only applicable to tourists, but also to anyone who returns to the islands after having been in one of those countries with a high incidence of Covid.
“The state regulations establish that anyone who comes from countries at risk due to Covid is required to present a PCR. In this case, the State does not distinguish whether they are tourists or not tourists, they are international passengers and that's it”, he specified.
Regarding these two young people, who are 17 years old and who traveled to England during the last holiday, according to them to see universities in which to study, Ángel Vázquez has confirmed that the Cabildo intervened to facilitate their return after they were denied boarding.
“We have helped them as we have done with others from the administration. During the confinement we helped those who had problems returning to Lanzarote”, recalled the councilor, also emphasizing that in this case they were two minors. “We understood that we had to activate the protocol and what we have done is move the threads with the companies to bring them here, as we did during the confinement with the people of Lanzarote who were abroad”, he pointed out, recalling that during the first wave of the pandemic, a group of about 40 children were surprised in London and they also helped them return, as well as other people who suffered flight cancellations.
However, the circumstances were now different, because when these two young people traveled to London, the rules that required them to have a negative PCR upon their return were already in force. In this regard, although Vázquez points out that “when you are going to travel to a country you have to know how you have to travel”, he insists that they considered it necessary to act because they were minors.
“I felt obliged, and especially considering that the United Kingdom and Germany are closing, to bring them back as is. I cannot leave those people there, I cannot leave minors stranded there”, he stated, confirming that the Cabildo covered the costs of both the PCR tests that they finally had to carry out, and the return flights.
Initially, after being denied boarding for the first time and after the intervention of the Cabildo, they tried to take another flight without success, until they finally took the test and were able to return to Lanzarote this Monday.
Regarding the criticism that these young people made of the airline that denied them boarding the first time, Ángel Vázquez recalled that “there are no boarding rights” and that the crew and the commander can decide if a passenger “does not meet the requirements” to board the plane, as was the case in this case of non-compliance with the regulations in force in Spain.
Regarding the tests that are being done on students who reside outside the island so that they can return home safely for Christmas, the councilor recalled that it is for those who live in the Peninsula, and that therefore it had nothing to do with the situation of these young people.
