UK holidaymakers in Ibiza race to airport before Balearic Islands removed from green travel list

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British holidaymakers in Ibiza are dashing back to the UK before Monday’s 4am quarantine deadline after ministers announced plans to strike Spain’s Balearic Islands off the Government’s green list of foreign travel destinations – despite having lower Covid rates than Britain.

Passengers could be seen queueing at a clinic in San Antonio to get PCR tests and racing to Ibiza Airport today, after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca will be demoted to the amber list.

Flight prices from the islands have soared by as much as nine times, with budget airline Ryanair’s morning and evening trips from Palma de Mallorca to Manchester Airport rocketing from just £12 at the start of Wednesday to nearly £110, an hour before Mr Shapps’ announcement.

Saturday’s mid-afternoon British Airway flight from Ibiza to London Heathrow was priced at around £115. Within two hours, tickets for the same journey had increased to £220 – a 92 per cent increase. 

On the last easyJet flight from Menorca to Gatwick before the deadline, the last three seats on the passenger carrier cost £118 – around two-thirds more than the preannouncement fare, the Independent reports.

Double-vaccinated people will still be able to return from the Balearics quarantine free, even though they are on the amber list, when travel rules change on Monday. But the move will be a blow to younger holidaymakers who are not yet fully jabbed and will now have to quarantine on their return to the UK or cancel their booking altogether. 

Air industry bosses lined up to blast the Government’s ‘bitterly disappointing’ move, while MPs warned that the ‘on and off again’ decision-making was ‘creating huge uncertainty in the sector’ and could lead to a jobs bloodbath in the autumn.

Furious Twitter users accused the Government of ‘taking the pi**’ and complained there is ‘absolutely no point going abroad’ until next year. One wrote: ‘We’re staying in the UK this year. We decided to not even try to go abroad, too much hassle, quarantines etc… and way too expensive’. 

Holidaymakers in Spain’s Balearic Islands are now scrambling back to the UK to beat the latest quarantine deadline at 4am on Monday, July 19 – when most legal restrictions are due to be scrapped on England’s so-called ‘Freedom Day’.

TUI UK and Jet2 Holidays told MailOnline that they are not cancelling trips to Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca but blasted the sudden move. A spokesman for Jet2 Holidays said: ‘Hardworking customers and families continue to be judged by a different and stricter set of rules when it comes to taking their well-deserved holidays. Travel is not, and should not be, the preserve of the wealthy and powerful.’ 

One unvaccinated couple told MailOnline they would have to cancel their trip to Ibiza to reunite with their grandchildren for the first time since the pandemic began, now that self-isolation rules for returning travellers are being re-imposed on the Balearics.

Another family who are due to fly to Menorca on Friday revealed that they were now stuck in limbo with travel agents and airlines refusing to offer refunds. Others who flew out from Gatwick said they were already considering cutting their holidays short to bypass the 10-day home quarantine.

Arriving back after Monday would also mean having to shell out as much as another £100 for an extra post-arrival Covid test. 

Though Bulgaria and Hong Kong have been fully downgraded to the green list, Croatia and Taiwan are on what’s known as the ‘green watch list’ which means they can be reverted back to amber at any moment. Those looking for a quick switch from the Balearics could face an uphill battle, with red tape potentially getting in the way of a trip to Croatia and Bulgaria. 

Speaking to MailOnline, Mark Littlewood, director-general at the Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank, said: ‘Moving a country from green to amber might be as easy as flicking a switch for policymakers but it will deliver a devastating blow to industries that have been clobbered by 18 months of Covid restrictions.

‘Companies in the aviation and tourism sectors are clinging on by their fingernails. Their survival hinges on certainty and a summer boost. Government is providing neither. Business owners – and the public at large – are finding it increasingly difficult to discern exactly what is changing on our so-called Freedom Day.

‘As for me, I don’t care whether politicians think the colour of a specific destination is green, yellow, orange, pink or violet – and I’m inclined to ignore this nonsense on my travels to Majorca next month.’

As the summer holiday hopes of hundreds of tourists lie in ruins, it emerged:  

• Britain will ‘of course’ face a new lockdown if Covid’s third wave hits ‘unacceptable’ levels, a minister warned;
• Goldman Sachs bankers who are returning to its £1billion European headquarters in London on Monday will still be required to wear face masks in the office;
• A record half-a-million Britons were sentenced to ‘pingdemic’ lockdown last week, figures revealed, amid concerns NHS Covid contact-tracing app could force millions off work; 
• A scathing letter which demanded Freedom Day be delayed and was backed by more than 1,200 ‘experts’ allowed people with no scientific credentials to sign it; 
• Face mask shambles continued as police were told they must keep wearing them while on the beat;
• People given AstraZeneca’s Covid jab were less likely to develop antibodies than those who received Pfizer’s;
• Vaccines Tsar Kate Bingham was revealed as one of 40,000 double-jabbed Britons forced to put holiday plans on hold after taking part in Novavax trial that is still not recognised by NHS or EU;
• Pub in Norwich becomes the first in the country to ban punters who can’t prove they’ve been jabbed.

EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren accused ministers of a ‘double standard where (foreign) travel is treated differently to the domestic economy’. 

Pointing out that Covid cases in the UK are rising while most of Europe’s remain lower, he added: ‘We cannot understand why the Government is going to allow people to go to a nightclub – without a mask or social distancing – and yet is not comfortable with people going to the beaches of Europe, where the infection rates are lower than in the UK.’ 

Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he did not understand the decision to axe the Balearic Islands from the green list – calling the move ‘disappointing’. 

Henry Smith, Tory chairman of the All-Party Future of Aviation Group, said the move is ‘creating huge uncertainty in the sector and for the millions of people desperate for a summer holiday’ as he slammed what he called on again, off again’ decision-making.

Speaking to MailOnline, he warned of a jobs bloodbath in the autumn, arguing that the move to strike popular holiday destinations off the so-called green list ‘is likely to create huge trouble for the industry, and could lead to significant unemployment in the coming weeks and months’. 

Mr Smith, chairman of the  said in response: ‘I think it’s incredibly disappointing, I would have liked to have seen the Government adding more countries onto the green list rather than removing them. I think we should be much more concerned with restarting international travel than we are, particularly as we move into the summer period.

‘There are two reasons for this. The first is the success of the vaccination roll-out, with even under-18s being offered the jab. The Government should be moving to allow people to head abroad without restrictions if they are jabbed because the vaccines significantly reduce the risk of serious illness.

‘The second is that the travel sector has been absolutely devastated by months of restrictions and this Government’s on again, off again attitude to international travel. We need a period of solid summer holidaying now to allow the industry to begin recovering from the effects of the pandemic.

‘Instead, the Government is creating an environment of tremendous uncertainty which is making it practically impossible for travel firms to operate. They need time to be able to adapt to any changes which are introduced.

‘I think if we are not careful, this on again, off again policy is likely to create huge trouble for the industry, and could lead to significant unemployment in the coming weeks and months.’ 

Flight prices from the archipelago have soared as much as nine times, with budget airline Ryanair’s morning and evening trips from Palma de Mallorca to Manchester Airport rocketing from just £12 at the start of yesterday to nearly £110 an hour before Mr Shapps’ announcement.

On the last easyJet flight from Menorca to Gatwick before the deadline, the last three seats on the passenger carrier cost £118 – around two-thirds more than the preannouncement fare, the Independent reports. 

Mr Shapps showed no sympathy for the thousands of Britons who could be affected by the sudden change to the travel list, telling them that uncertainty was a ‘fact of life’. He said the reason the Balearics had been demoted to the Amber List was because Covid case rates there had more than doubled. 

He added: ‘When people book, particularly to a green watchlist country, you need to make sure you can get your money back. For some – children, those under 18 plus people who have been double vaccinated – you won’t have to quarantine. Treat it as though it is still a green country. But it will mean some people… will have to come home.’  

Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, who sits on the Transport Select Committee, criticised the Government for failing to move relatively low-risk countries such as Germany and Italy to the ‘green list’. 

He wrote on Twitter: ‘#Germany 7 day #COVID19 rates per 100,000 6 #Italy 14 #UK 348! Perverse that these & other countries with a fraction of our rates have not gone green today, dealing another hammer blow to separated families & our transport sector. Much safer there than here! #speakupfortravel’. 

In his criticism, Jet 2’s Mr Heapy added: ‘We have a two tier system: (for the average person) travel is beyond them because they have to pay for tests when they get back. The average person can’t go on holiday, but 70,000 people can cram into a football stadium… Travel is beyond the reach of a lot of people, unless you’re rich and privileged.’   

A spokesman for Jet2 Holidays told MailOnline: ‘If customers have been fully vaccinated, today’s announcement changes nothing whatsoever. These customers (and children travelling with them who are under 18) can continue to enjoy, or look forward to enjoying, quarantine-free flights and holidays from across the UK to any destination on the Green or Amber List this summer. 

‘From the demand we are seeing this is most certainly the case, with customers looking to enjoy the benefits of the successful vaccination programme by getting away to the sunshine.

‘That said, as restrictions across the UK continue to be eased and ‘VIPs’ travel carte-blanche, it is still unfair that hardworking customers and families continue to be judged by a different and stricter set of rules when it comes to taking their well-deserved holidays. Travel is not, and should not be, the preserve of the wealthy and powerful.

‘It is frustrating that decisions continue to be made about international travel whilst the criteria for these decisions are withheld from us. Once again, we call on Governments to be transparent, both with the data and their parameters for making decisions.’  

Andrew Flintham, Managing Director for TUI UK, said in a statement: ‘The latest travel announcement will be disappointing for customers who are not yet fully vaccinated, looking forward to well-deserved holidays, or to reconnect with loved ones. 

‘The continued lack of transparency about the methodology and data behind these changes make it incredibly difficult for customers to book far in advance with confidence.’

Dr Steven Freudmann, former President of ABTA – The Travel Association, told MailOnline: ‘It’s bitterly disappointing. Just two countries on the amber list currently have higher rates of infection than the UK.

‘It’s safer to go to most Amber list countries than it is to take a holiday in the UK. Between 20 May and the end of June not a single variant of concern was detected from any passenger returning from one of the amber list countries.’

Virginia Messina, senior vice president for the World Tourism Trade Council, told MailOnline: ‘This will throw summer holidays into disarray for tens of thousands of people. Businesses given the lifeline of holidays to the Balearics will also be left floundering as bookings collapse and customers clamour for refunds, piling on further financial pressure. 

‘There may be some good news with Croatia and Bulgaria moving up the scale and being added to the green list. But the overall impact is one of confusion, which will only deter more Brits from holidaying abroad as the summer season slips away.’ 

One woman, who had planned to fly to Ibiza this summer to see her sons with her husband, told MailOnline she was already planning to cancel her trip to the Balearic Islands. She said: ‘My partner and I will have to cancel our holidays if Ibiza is going on the amber list.

‘My sons are living there and I haven’t seen them for two years, now we planned our holidays there so we could spend time with him. I haven’t seen my sons and my grandchildren for so long time that it will kill me straight away if they don’t allow us to travel and we are going into lockdown again. We have a new baby girl on the family and I’m afraid I won’t be allowed to meet her.’    

Amelia Ellis, 22, and Ben Randall, 23, were flying to green list Gibraltar from Gatwick and heading on to join her family on the Costa del Sol.

Ms Ellis, who has only had her first Covid jab, told MailOnline: ‘I’d rather not have to isolate on the way back but if we have to then I’ll work from home like I have been anyway. We might try to get home before the deadline if we have to.’   

Cases were already shooting upwards before the archipelago was even added to No10’s ‘green list’ on June 30. But they have continued to spiral following the influx of British holidaymakers.

Spanish newspapers have pointed the finger at young Spaniards travelling to the islands, and British experts say there is no proof yet that the decision to put Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca on the green list is to blame for the rise in cases.

Those travelling to amber listed countries, such as mainland Spain, have to self-isolate for 10 days on their return to England. However, as of July 19 the requirement to quarantine will be scrapped for the fully vaccinated and those aged under 18 – but thousands of young adults are not yet eligible for their second jab. 

Originally, there was a suggestion that Britons who could show a positive antibody test – which shows previous infection and implies immunity – would be granted similar freedoms to those who are jabbed.

On her trip to Ibiza, she added: ‘Now it will not be possible due my partner not having enough available days to do quarantine because his company forced him to take half of his holidays before 30th of June.’

A family of four who are planning to go to Mallorca next week said they are ‘prepared the jump through necessary hoops’ after booking a last-minute trip to the island when their break to Portugal was cancelled.

Verity Blair, 34, a sales executive from Haslemere in Surrey, and her partner Alex James, 33, have both had one Covid-19 jab each and are still going to travel to Mallorca on Tuesday even if it goes onto the amber list, and then self-isolate for 10 days once home.

Ms Blair – who has twins Penelope and Sofia with Mr James – works for an American company with no UK office, so it will not have an impact on her job.

She told MailOnline this morning: ‘At this stage, we are prepared the jump through necessary hoops to enjoy our first family holiday.

‘We booked to go to Portugal a year ago before the girls had even arrived and were so excited about having a holiday with them, not thinking that a whole year on we would need to worry about restrictions.

‘However, when it became clear about a week ago that we wouldn’t be able to go to Portugal owing to their restrictions, we decided to book a last minute trip to Mallorca. 

‘We picked Mallorca because it was on the green list, knowing that might change – but even if it changes to amber, we won’t mind isolating when we get home.

‘As we have become so used to that over the last 16 months, it feels like a small price to pay for a week away in the sunshine.

‘Taking a holiday at home just wouldn’t be the same, and when we explored holidaying in the UK it was nearly impossible to book something last minute, and what was left would have cost the same as getting abroad.

‘Luckily isolating at home won’t affect us work wise, as my company recently announced that we will never be required to work from an office again, and so will always enjoy the flexibility of working from home.’ 

Samuel Helps, 19, and girlfriend Hannah Simons, 19, from Bromley flew to Menorca from Gatwick this morning for a seven-day holiday. They decided to take a chance and booked a last minute package deal. Both are double jabbed and are hopeful this will mean they are not caught out by any rule changes. 

‘We should be safe while we are out there and we are protected if the rules change, we have all the insurance,’ care home worker Ms Bromley said. ‘Because it’s a package we are pretty well covered if anything does change.’

Faith Wheeler, from Brighton is going to Ibiza to visit a friend. She booked her flights last week when the country was being battered with rain. 

The 42-year-old marketing director said: ‘I’ve been double jabbed since April. I’m flying back on Sunday, so hopefully things won’t change before then. If the rules change, I don’t care – I’m going anyway. I’ve got all the insurance if it gets cancelled or if I get covid out there and have to stay.’ 

Mr Shapps showed no sympathy for Britons facing growing uncertainty during a round of interviews this morning. He told BBC Breakfast: ‘We review these every three weeks. I hope we have made very clear to everybody when booking trips at the moment there is always the chance that countries will move around. 

‘Some countries may go to the red list, some countries may go to the green, but some may move the other way to the amber list. It is a fact of life that they will continue to move around as the virus continues to develop and change globally.’ 

However industry groups criticised the move, with trade association ABTA said: ‘The decision to move the Balearic Islands to the amber list is a step back for the travel industry. 

‘Thousands of travel jobs and businesses are in desperate need of a successful summer season, and this further emphasises the urgent need for tailored financial support for a sector that has struggled to make any meaningful revenue for almost 18 months now.’

Tim Alderslade, head of the umbrella body Airlines UK, said: ‘While the vaccination programme is permitting a full reopening of the domestic economy, international travel between safe countries with low infections and high vaccination rates is still portrayed as a serious danger to public health.  Moving countries between tiers is shattering consumer trust.’ 

Meanwhile, Paul Charles, CEO of travel consultancy The PC Agency, criticised the Government’s decision making as ‘opaque’, adding: ‘It’s a totally unpredictable list of changes which won’t help most consumers. 

‘You have to quarantine on arrival in Hong Kong for 21 days, so rules out travel there for most people. The Balearics were one of the last green options for those not fully-jabbed to be able to get away.’

‘Overall, this revision supports the view that decision-making is opaque, complex for consumers to understand and ignores the many countries which should be on a wider green list.’

Francina Armengol, president of the islands, said ministers should look beyond infection rates, adding: ‘We are experiencing a high level of contagion, but many are not having to be admitted to hospital because the most vulnerable are double vaccinated.’ 

The Transport Secretary also said Brits who received doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine made in India should not be prevented from travelling, after a British couple given the jab were turned away from travelling to see their son in Malta.  

Steve and Glenda Hardy, who received doses of the vaccine in March, were barred from flying by staff working for travel operator TUI at Manchester Airport on Friday. The retired couple, from Hull, were trying to visit their son, who they have not seen for over a year.

Mr Shapps told BBC Breakfast the Government will take up the issue with authorities in Malta, adding: ‘It is not right and it shouldn’t be happening.’