Kirsty Mckenzie
THE boss of British Airways has called on the Government to reunite Britons with their families overseas by urgently opening up air travel to Spain.
Chief executive Sean Doyle said millions of British expats were desperate to see their loved ones after ‘a very tough 14 months’.
Spain was placed on the amber travel list, along with Greece and USA, earlier this month meaning that anyone returning to the UK from these countries would have to self isolate for two weeks.
But Doyle said that data on vaccination and infection rates for Spain, Greece and USA made a ‘compelling case’ for putting them on the green list from early next month.
“The pace of vaccination in Europe has been picking up dramatically over the last couple of weeks and that should push a number of countries on to the green list as we get into June,” he said.
“For the economy to open up fully, we do need to enable travel to countries that are tracking in the same way as the UK.”
He added that making sure Spain was on the green list would allow families to reunite after being torn apart by the pandemic.
Boyle said “You’ve got people who have got elderly or frail parents they have been unable to see.
“You’ve also got people who have suffered bereavements who haven’t been able to come back and grieve.
“People want to reconnect.”
READ MORE:
- SNUBBED! Spain is omitted from UK ‘Green’ travel list but neighbours Gibraltar and Portugal make it
- EXPLAINER: What we know about Spain’s plans to welcome tourists with ‘vaccine passport’ from June
- Spain extends coronavirus ban on non-essential travel for those outside EU – including Brits – until May 31
