Some good news at last! Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, has just announced that the Canary Islands have been added to the travel corridor list. From 4am on Sunday, October 25th, visitors returning from the islands (Tenerife, Gran Canaria,La Gomera, La Palma, El Hierro, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Graciosa) will not have to self-isolate on their return to the UK. The Canary Islands are exempt from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO) advice against all non-essential international travel.
Huge sighs of relief all round I should think, as it was all getting very tight to save the crucial winter sun season, which officially kicks off on November 1st, and hoteliers were becoming very jittery . Germany has also announced that it will lift restrictions to the Canary Islands on Saturday, October 24th. The islands already had a system planned to test travellers in their country of origin and on arrival to guarantee safety in as far as possible – although it is not yet clear how and even whether this is going to be implemented. Apparently there has been a problem with getting it set up at airports in the Canaries, so now there is a plan to do it when tourists arrive at their hotels – no idea yet what will happen with all those people not staying at hotels.
Mooching around Spain 