A British grandmother was among hundreds of passengers whose planes had to make U-turns in the sky after Spain went into coronavirus lockdown.
Beryl Carrick, 78, was bound for Benidorm but had to turn around mid-air just minutes from her destination after Jet2 cancelled all flights to the country yesterday.
Mrs Carrick, from Driffield, East Yorks, was flying from Leeds with her family to celebrate husband Arthur’s 80th birthday.
She said: “We were nearly at the airport in Spain when an announcement came on. They told us the Spanish are stopping people going in because of coronavirus and our flight was turning around to go home.
“We were all quite surprised and it was rather bizarre to be so close to our destination only to come home again.”
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A total of five flights from the UK were diverted after Jet2 announced it was stopping all travel to mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.
Planes from Birmingham to Malaga, Glasgow to Alicante and Leeds to Alicante all turned back over France.
Ray Handy and his family, meanwhile, have now booked a last-minute trip to Dubai after their Jet2 flight from Birmingham to Tenerife was also cancelled.
The 54-year-old, a civil engineer from Warwickshire, was travelling with wife Amanda and daughters Carla, 30 and Stacey, 27.
He said: “As soon as we got to the airport, people were saying Jet2 had cancelled all flights to Spain and some that had taken off were heading back.”
The family originally booked their week-long break to Tenerife last year but had to cancel when provider Thomas Cook went bust.
They were refunded and then re-booked the same holiday with On The Beach, but have conceded that the holiday was perhaps 'not to be'.
Mr Handy said: “It just felt like it was the holiday that was not to be – but we were determined to find a way.”
Anne Thomas, 62, was flying back to her home in Spain after spending the past few days looking after her dementia-sufferer mum in West Yorkshire.
The expat said: “I’ve barely slept because I’m been looking after my poorly mum and after almost getting home to Spain I’ve been turned around. It’s a very frustrating and quite stressful situation. I have been told Jet2 flights are still going and picking holidaymakers up to come back here, so I don’t understand why I can’t be dropped off. I just wish they could get me back home.”
Health chiefs in Spain confirmed cases soared by a third overnight to 5,753. So far, the virus has killed 120 people there.
There were 3,000 new diagnoses in capital Madrid alone as authorities stopped testing people with only mild symptoms there.
Under new rules – released after a 15-day state of emergency was declared – people will only be allowed to leave home under certain conditions.
Yesterday, TUI said no flights will be running to Spain between today and Monday, while Jet2 said all flights to the country will be off for at least a week.
The strict travel measures in Spain echo those in Italy – where 21,157 have tested positive for the virus and 1,441 have died.
The World Travel and Tourism Council says up to 50 million jobs could be lost due to the pandemic, while UK Hospitality boss Kate Nicholls has asked the Government “to permit temporary staff redundancies where demand falls substantially – with Universal Credit covering wage costs”.
Worldwide, dozens of airlines have cancelled flights and UK unions have warned a swathe of airlines are preparing to announce job cuts.
Norwegian Air has axed more than 4,000 flights and plans to lay off up to half its staff temporarily.
EasyJet and Ryanair also cancelled hundreds of flights, while Virgin Atlantic said some of its jets are “almost empty”.
British Airways boss Alex Cruz has said the firm is fighting for survival and job cuts are inevitable due to a lack of travel.
Claiming the situation is more serious than 9/11, he told staff in a memo: “We are suspending routes and will be parking aircraft in a way we have never had to do before.
“Please do not underestimate the seriousness of this for our company.”
Elsewhere, half a million seasonal jobs in holiday parks, hotels and tourist areas have already been “frozen” and "hundreds of thousands” more are at risk due to a Covid-19 cash crunch for bars, cafes and restaurants.
Alistair Darling, Chancellor during the 2008 financial crisis, has said the Government must consider massive bailouts for airlines and other firms hit by the virus.
