Yahoo Finance Coronavirus: UK tourists allowed to visit Spain without quarantine
From today, UK tourists will be allowed to visit Spain without a quarantine period, Spanish officials have said.
Spain's foreign affairs minister Arancha González Laya said the change was made “out of respect” for 400,000 Brits who have second homes in the country.
Rules on home soil, however, mean that anyone returning to the UK will have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival.
The foreign affairs minister said that Britons will go through a “triple check” on arrival in Spain.
First they will state their country of origin, giving details so that they can be contact traced. Then they will have a temperature check.
She said discussions are still ongoing about a reciprocal arrangement for Spanish tourists visiting the UK.
"We do hope that [the British authorities] will be sensitive to the 250,000 Spaniards that are also living in the UK and would very much like to enter the UK without quarantine," she said.
READ MORE: Airbus extends furlough scheme in UK, Spain
“We will allow British visitors to enter Spain, just like the rest of the European Union or Schengen areas, as from the 21st of June freely and without the need of a quarantine,” she continued.
Airlines that warned against a 14-day quarantine period in the UK will welcome Spain’s move.
On 12 June British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair said they would sue the British government over the rules for new arrivals.
The airlines said they are seeking a judicial review to overturn the government ruling, saying it will have "a devastating effect on British tourism and the wider economy and destroy thousands of jobs".
It also comes as airlines continue to furlough and lay off workers.
Airbus extended its furlough programme for 5,300 of its employees. Irish airline Aer Lingus also confirmed it would slash 500 jobs.
The UK foreign office is still warning citizens against all but essential travel.
