Quarantine-free travel from Spain starts from Thursday

Holidaymakers returning from Spain will not be required to quarantine once they arrive back in Scotland from this Thursday, the Scottish Government has confirmed.

But Scots who arrive from the Spanish mainland or any Spanish island before Thursday will still be required to self-isolate for 14 days once they get back home.

Earlier this month, the Scottish Government approved quarantine-free travel from 39 ‘green’ rated countries that were deemed to pose a low risk in terms of the prevalence of coronavirus.

Spain was not included in the initial list of so-called “air bridge” countries – meaning nations where quarantine-free travel is allowed.

But that policy was reviewed on Monday and the change to include Spain – including both the mainland and popular island destinations like Majorca, Menorca and the Canary Islands – will be implemented later this week.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Individuals arriving in Scotland must adhere to the regulations which are in force at the time when they enter the country.

“The changes which are being made to the regulations will mean that from Thursday, those who holiday in Spain will no longer need to quarantine, anyone arriving before that will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.”

Scottish Government officials said the decision was arrived at after a “thorough” evaluation of the prevalence of Covid-19 in the country.

They added the air bridges policy is kept under regular review and that quarantine measures could quickly be reinstated for travel from countries where virus cases rise.

Other European countries – including Serbia and Portugal – remain off the “air bridge” list.