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Daily Record
Daily Record
Health
Keith McLeod

Jet2 flights to bring British tourists home from Spain amid coronavirus crisis

Jet2 flights are still flying to Spain - to bring Brits back to the UK.

The airline announced a ban on flights to Spain earlier today - with one flight out of Glasgow carrying out a U-turn.

But Jet2 is continuing with its scheduled flights to Spanish destinations until next Saturday in order to bring Brits home.

The airline said it put the ban on taking fresh holidaymakers to Spain in place because of the measures being introduced there to try to combat coronavirus.

A Jet2 spokeswoman said: "In response to local measures introduced throughout Spain to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including the closure of bars, restaurants, shops and activities including any water sports, we have taken the decision to suspend flights for at least the next seven days to mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands with immediate effect.

"We know these local measures will have a significant impact on our customers’ holidays which is why we have taken this decision.

Easyjet says "rescue" flights to Italy are ongoing (MEN MEDIA)

 "We will be flying customers back to the UK via our programme of scheduled flights which will continue to operate until Saturday 21 March (inclusive).

"As this is a fast-moving and complex situation, we are keeping this under constant review.

"We are contacting our customers who are currently in these destinations, and who are due to travel, to advise them of their options, so we urge customers not to call us.

"The health and safety of our customers is our number one priority, and we would like to thank our customers for their understanding.

Glasgow  flight to Spain was amongst several planes forced to reroute back to the UK this morning.

All Jet2 flights to Spain have been cancelled for at least seven days and those in mid-air earlier on Saturday were forced to turn back.

Half a dozen flights have been affected by the decision.

Coronavirus has stopped regular flights to Spain and Italy (Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)

As well as the Glasgow to Alicante flight, flights from Birmingham to Malaga, Leeds to Alicante, East Midlands to Alicante and Manchester to Alicante were all forced to return to the UK.

Meanwhile, easyJet said it is operating "rescue" flights to bring Britis back from Italy.

It said: “Following restrictions implemented by the Italian authorities, easyJet is now in the process of cancelling all of its existing scheduled flights to Italy between 10 March and 3 April 2020.

"We will be operating some rescue flights in the coming days. We are advising affected customers of their options by email and SMS which includes the option of rebooking or requesting a refund.

“We will be operating rescue flights for passengers wishing to travel for essential, work, health or repatriation reasons to and from Italy. 

"Rescue flights will be listed on our Latest Travel Information section of the website and customers can book onto these flights via our contact centre or by arriving at the airport as early as possible on the day of departure.”

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