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The Government is losing all credibility and authority over its chaotic travel policy

Restrictions on travel to Spain were announced at five hours’ notice - ENRIC FONTCUBERTA/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK
Restrictions on travel to Spain were announced at five hours’ notice - ENRIC FONTCUBERTA/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

We all knew there were risks. That it was unlikely that we could start travelling again normally without a few hiccups and setbacks along the road. What we expected was that any changes to Foreign Office advice and quarantine requirements would be calmly and timely made, and cogently explained.

What we have had since Saturday evening – when restrictions on travel to Spain were announced at five hours’ notice – looks like panic and confusion, a draconian reaction which has ruined the plans hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers, threatened the income and livelihoods of many who will be forced into quarantine on their return, and left the travel industry on the brink of disaster.

Let me provide a little context. This is the absolute peak of the summer holiday season. Spain is the single most important destination for UK travellers. It is the worst possible moment for a travel ban to be introduced and any changes needed to be incredibly carefully handled.

Of course, the Government had to be decisive and respond quickly. There has certainly been a very sharp spike in cases in Spain, shooting up from the low hundreds during June, to 6,361 yesterday. Changing FCO advice for the mainland on Saturday so that holidays had to be cancelled overnight was too sudden, but it was at least understandable, since two thirds of the new cases are in three regions in the north of the country.

But to double down on that only two days later and change the advice for travel to the Balearics and the Canaries not only looks indecisive, it makes no sense. The rates of infection there are extremely low – significantly less than we have here. These are critical destinations for holidaymakers and they sit in relative isolation from the mainland where the worst affected areas are – in any case – in lockdown.

What’s more, the changes were made with little or no consultation with airlines and tour operators, which are tearing their hair out in frustration. The Association of Independent Tour Operators says that the Government won’t discuss the issue with them, nor provide a satisfactory explanation. Jet2 was so wrong-footed that at first it decided to ignore the new rules and continue its flight programme and then, a few hours later, cancelled all flights to mainland Spain until the middle of August.

The risk of implementing such drastic changes in such a disorganised way is that the Government will lose credibility and authority. People will stop trusting its advice and make their own decisions. Ryanair, EasyJet and BA are still operating services to Spain and most of those booked to fly to the Balearics and Canaries know that the infection rates there are low. Many will be tempted to travel anyway, even if it means going without insurance.

It’s not as if the Government doesn’t have form. Remember the chaos at the start of lockdown when so many Brits were stranded abroad? The FCO has just been heavily criticised by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee for its poor communication and failure to organise repatriation flights swiftly enough. Remember the protracted saga of the air bridges announcement a few weeks ago, when holidaymakers and the travel industry were left in suspense for days before an announcement was finally made?

As he cancelled his holiday to Ibiza yesterday, Michael Gove described the Government’s policies on travel and quarantine as “coherent”. Surely the word he was groping for was “chaotic”.