Isha Sesay
HUNDREDS of German tourists have been left stranded at airports after two flights scheduled to jet into Mallorca were cancelled.
More than 200 holidaymakers were set to touch down on the Balearic isle on Wednesday to partake in the pilot test for tourism.
However, these plans were dashed after the TUI Group failed to obtain the correct authorisation from the central government for the Eurowings flights to land in Spain.
These flights, scheduled to depart from Cologne and Frankfurt, were not approved by the Ministry of Health to land in Mallorca, meaning that they were not published in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
Once realising their colossal mistake, TUI decided to cancel both flights to avoid encountering problems at Son Sant Joan airport where they would likely be ordered to return to their destination of origin.
This decision was however made just four hours before the flight was due to take off.
This meant that the passengers either waiting to check in or en route to the airport when they were contacted by representatives from the TUI Group.
As the list of approved flights was finalised last week it will be unlikely that these holidaymakers will be able to participate in the pilot plan this month, disappointing both holidaymakers and expectant hoteliers.
In response to the blunder, the Government of the Balearic Islands deemed it as ‘poor programming from TUI.’
Flights without approval to partake in the pilot plan would therefore be barred from entry since it is ‘necessary to act rigorously in a special project such as this.’
It comes as the first of almost 11,000 German citizens jetted into Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca on Monday.
In a bid to promote the Balearic Islands as a safe destination amid the coronavirus pandemic, the pilot test hopes to give the region a competitive advantage over other European holiday spots.
